Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn believes Mikel Arteta "needs" a top-four finish this coming season.The Gunners came agonisingly close to qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 season.
Only a meltdown at the end of the campaign saw them finish two points behind bitter north London rivals Tottenham, which extended Arteta's run outside of Europe's top competition to three-and-a-half seasons.However, there were huge positives on display throughout the year, which showed the Spaniard's message was clearly getting through to players as they performed to a high level in flashes.
But former left-back Winterburn, who has backed Arteta's process, thinks the Gunners blew the "perfect" opportunity by losing too often.READ MORE: Gabriel Jesus wants Arsenal transfer as Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubts prove crucialTalking to Bet365 on behalf of Daily Star Sport, the Arsenal icon said: "He had a lot of players to move and start to build a squad which he is still doing.
I said it openly, at the start of last season I did not think we would get top four."But it was the perfect scenario for Arteta because there was no European Football, so he could work with the players a lot which you need to do as a young manager, establish a style of play."After Christmas, the position they got themselves into, they should have finished fourth.
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