Arsenal News: Gunners ranked in the top four in the standings call for goal shifting rather than victory in Europa League

For Alan Smith, Arsenal needs to focus on the Premier League, with a top-four ranking more attractive to potential new hires than a Europa League triumph.

The Gunners are still looking for two-way Champions League qualifications in 2018-19.

There is still a good position to play in the league, since it stands at a fifth-place point, while another semifinal was reached in the continental competition.

Reclaiming a place among the European elite is considered essential for future recruitment plans, but Smith says silverware may not be the best route to market access. l & # 39; summer.

The former Gunners striker said football.londres: "A place among the top four, given the competition, if Arsenal and [Unai] Emery finished fourth, which would be an excellent achievement.

"You can play in the Champions League. You can attract the players of the Champions League, which is important.

"Yes, winning the Europa League would be great, especially because it would get them into the Champions League if they could.

"But an arrival in the top four says something different. This is a statement of intent, which says that you are not a cut team, but that you are one of the top four teams in the country.

"This is where Arsenal was terribly long before the last two years and that's where they have to come back."

The Gunners left the top four towards the end of Arsene Wenger's reign in North London.

He has managed to establish Arsenal as a world superpower, but has not been able to win Champions League football in each of his last two seasons.

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Emery has been appointed to put things in order at the Emirates Stadium and has done wonders in this quest until now.

The Spaniard, however, is considered to have much more work to do to bring Arsenal back to a level comparable to the one he once enjoyed under the former emblematic boss.

Leicester must present the next hurdle for the Gunners, with a visit to King Power Stadium expected Sunday by a team that continues to fight to stay fit on the road.