Lack of Champions League can impact Arsenal transfer plans: Arteta

(Reuters) - Arsenal could struggle to attract top talent if the Premier League club fail to qualify for the Champions League again, manager Mikel Arteta has said.

Arsenal have missed out on Europe's elite club competition for three consecutive seasons and the Spaniard added that a fourth could also have a big financial impact.

"It's a no-brainer," Arteta told reporters when asked if it was easier to sign players with Champions League qualification secured.

"Every player in the world wants to play Champions League and if you talk about having this option on the table, players are much more open to join or renew their contract."

Arsenal were knocked out of the second-tier Europa League in the round of 32 last week by Olympiakos Piraeus.

They are 10th in the Premier League and face a stiff task to finish inside the top four and ensure automatic Champions League qualification.

"We're in that situation because we haven't performed as well as the other top four clubs. That's the reality and we have to face it," Arteta added.

Arsenal said in a statement https://www.arsenal.com/news/financial-results-201819 last week they had made a loss of £27.1 million in the financial year ending May 31, 2019.

"The damage caused by the club not being in the Champions League for the third season is really big," Arteta said.

"The structure of this club is built to be in the Champions League and you can sustain that for a year or two, but then after that you have to start making decisions."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)