Mikel Arteta has conceded that failure to qualify for the Champions League would be a missed opportunity for Arsenal given that, for long periods of the run-in, they had their destiny in their own hands.
Arsenal will have to settle for Europa League football in 2022-23 unless they beat Everton on Sunday and, improbably, Tottenham are defeated at relegated Norwich. Fifth place and a return to continental competition would still count as laudable progress but Arteta’s team were in control of fourth place until chastening defeats at Spurs and Newcastle in the last nine days. A generally positive season could also go down as a chance spurned.
