Craig Burley: Top Four Finish Should Allow Unai Emery To Make Demands

Craig Burley believes a top-four finish should see Unai Emery backed properly…

ESPN pundit Craig Burley believes that if Unai Emery guides us to a top three finish, the Spaniard should be able to demand what he wants from the Gunners board.

Monday night’s win against Newcastle United saw us climb into third place for the first time this season and has led many to believe that we may just be the favourites to clinch a Champions League place.

Emery was given a limited budget to work with last summer and amidst an injury crisis in January, the head coach was told that he could only add loan signings.

Thus, Denis Suarez joined from Barcelona and the Spaniard hasn’t exactly had the best of impacts given that he’s yet to start a competitive game for us.

However, despite these constraints and with turmoil taking place throughout the club, Emery has kept the team focus and is on the brink of achieving the desired goal.

If we do complete the mission of getting back among Europe’s elite, Burley feels the former Sevilla boss should demand what he wants from the board.

“If he gets them into third or fourth, Champions League football, all of a sudden he can go to them [the board] and say ‘we’re on the front foot here, let’s not take a backwards step, this is what we need to do, we need to spend this, this and this and this is the areas that we need to improve’,” the former Chelsea man said.

“And he’s got a much better chance of doing it with Champions League football and selling to his owners that he is the man for the job.”

The guaranteed revenue Champions League football, coupled with the new sponsorship deals with adidas and Fly Emirates, Emery should be given a substantial budget.

Rising wages can no longer be used as an excused with three high profile set to lighten the wage bill as Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck head for the exit door.