Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Arsene Wenger: Top-three finish will aid Arsenal in transfer market

LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes finishing in the top three of the Premier League and securing qualification for the Champions League group stages will boost his hopes of landing his top transfer targets this summer.

Wenger will wrap up a top-three finish if Arsenal beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

He succeeded in luring Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona last summer ahead of a tricky Champions League playoff against Besiktas, but Wenger believes removing any uncertainty over the club's participation in the competition will boost their ambitions on and off the pitch.

"They [transfer targets] think most of the time you play Champions League, but they are not sure," Wenger told reporters. "All you can say to them is that statistically we have always done it and qualified.

"It's very important to avoid the playoff. Serene preparation and not having that kind of stress over your head from the first day you start again. We know what it means and we know it is always tricky because you can play against teams in the middle of their season and you are still in preparation.

"It is the pressure and the consequences of not qualifying that is massive. Now the international competitions mean you cannot start the season with all your players and you cannot give a long enough rest when they have played international games."

Wenger went on to argue a top-three finish would represent progress for his side and he is also looking to improve on the points tally his side accumulated last season, currently sitting on 70 points with three games left to play.

"We made 78 points last year," he continued. "That is quite a good total, but it was not enough to finish in the top three. We want to make more points and we still have an opportunity to do it.

"Every game is questioned and only one thing that shows you have made progress is the continuity in your performances and that we have a good level of cohesion is shown away from home. That is what we want to show. Also the way we respond to a disappointment [of defeat against Swansea last Monday] is a big indication of how strong we are."

With Arsenal beating Manchester United and Manchester City away from home in recent months, he insists that the mental aspect of those victories are significant.

"To do it again will show us that we have the strengths to be even stronger next season," he added. "In recent years, Old Trafford was a difficult ground for us, but winning there shows we are making progress.

"I believe we have [overcome a mental barrier], but this is another opportunity to show that. It is the consistency of your performances away from home and in big games that convinces you and convinces everyone who watches us play."

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