Arsenal will still attract best players even if we miss out on Champions League, insists Sanllehi

Arsenal chiefs are confident failure to qualify for the Champions League next week won’t dent the club’s pull and that it will remain ‘strong enough’ even if they miss out.

Arsenal need to beat Chelsea in next week’s Europa League final to get back in the continent’s top club competition after finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Missing out will be a blow to manager Unai Emery’s transfer plans with his budget set to start at around £45m before player sales without Champions League football.

But, in a candid interview alongside managing director Vinai Venkatesham in which he also admitted Arsenal had made an error with their handing of Aaron Ramsey’s contract situation, head of football Raul Sanllehi said: ‘Fortunately the image of Arsenal is strong enough. We are a reference in the football world, so when Arsenal knocks on the door of players it’s a different knock than other clubs.

‘Of course, the fact that we have not been in the Champions League for two years and we are in question marks now for the next year, that’s not helpful.

‘But again, the image of Arsenal is strong enough to help us build a case about all the model we are bringing up, the new era that we are bringing up. It’s very exciting.

‘We’re getting a lot from players that we’re talking to, that they really get that it’s a nice place, that it’s a very good place to be, Arsenal, in order to project a good football career.

Arsenal are keen to avoid a repeat of losing players like Aaron Ramsey as a free agent

‘If by any chance we would not be there [in the Champions League] next year – which I don’t think is going to happen – our challenge would be to get in there immediately.

‘We have a lot to offer to any player. I don’t feel in disadvantage with anybody. The league, the Premier League, is exciting for any player in the world. London, Arsenal, the history, the dimension of the club, the stadium, the facilities at Colney, the fanbase, the followers around the world and the exposure. Really, I feel like I have a lot of ammunition when I talk with players to engage them in our project.’

Arsenal have lost long-serving midfielder Ramsey, 28, to Juventus though.

He will join the Italian giants on a free transfer, eventually agreeing his £400,000-per-week switch after seeing a contract offer from the Gunners withdrawn.

Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi believes the club have a lot of offer the best platers

Sanllehi explained that Arsenal effectively couldn’t compete with the lucrative wage offers the Welshman was getting from elsewhere knowing he would be a free agent and eventually had to let him leave to avoid causing disruption in the dressing room.

He said: ‘We had to be responsible for ourselves and protect the interests of Arsenal. We realised we were going to cause an imbalance that would have been harmful for the team’s sake in the medium and longer term.’

When asked, Sanllehi conceded that an ‘error’ had been made allowing Ramsey’s contract to run down and that is a situation Arsenal ‘cannot’ let happen in the future with players they wish to keep and ‘if we cannot get a renewal before that we may have to sell.’

He added: ‘The position of the club, of losing a player of the quality – not only the football quality but the human quality and club identification – of Aaron, we have to avoid that. It’s not correct for us.’