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Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has set a Europa League triumph target with the Gunners this season.
THE LOWDOWN: NEAR MISSES
Mikel Arteta’s men narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot last term. However, the Gunners secured continental football and their record in Europe’s second-tier competition has been quite decent.
Under former gaffer Unai Emery, Arsenal reached the final in 2019, only to be denied a European title by Chelsea in Baku.
In the past five years, the Gunners have found themselves fully immersed in the second-tier competition, and the goal this season is to return to Europe’s elite competition – the UEFA Champions League.
THE LATEST: “IT’S TIME TO WIN”
Arsenal Midfielder Granit Xhaka believes it’s time for Arsenal to win the Europa League.
The Gunners have been close in the last couple of years, having reached two semi-finals and a final since 2018.
“(I was) Very disappointed, first of all, because when you get to the final you want to win it, for sure,” he told reporters in St Gallen on the eve of Arsenal’s opener in the 2022/23 season.
“But you can only learn about this. Three years later we are still here now in the Europa League – and it’s time to win. We want to start well in a new competition, in the Europa League and we want to take the three points back to London.”
THE VERDICT: WELL SAID
Granit Xhaka has spoken quite well about this year’s campaign in the Europa League. Arsenal have been close in the past few years and that must have informed his decision to make such a statement.
Truth be told, winning the Europa League offers Mikel Arteta’s men, not just silverware but also an opportunity to return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2017.
The ball is in the court of the players and Mikel Arteta to get the job done and hopefully, that will be the case by the end of the season.
