Petr Cech tells Arsenal to take the Europa League seriously if they miss out on Champions League football

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James Olley17 May 2017

Petr Cech is urging Arsenal to target Europa League glory next season if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The Gunners beat Sunderland 2-0 last night to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish heading into the final day of the season.

Arsene Wenger’s side must defeat Everton and then hope Liverpool fail to beat Middlesbrough or Manchester City lose at Watford with a five-goal swing in their favour to secure a berth in Europe’s premier competition.

Cech won the Europa League with Chelsea and he believes the experience of lifting silverware and the prospect of an additional route back into the Champions League mean the competition warrants serious attention.

“A European trophy is a European trophy,” he said. “You want to have the Champions League one rather than the Europa League one but you can see more and more, big teams are treating the Europa League with respect because it is a European trophy.

“Now you can qualify for the Champions League, too. It is a fantastic memory for myself to look at the medal.”

Despite Sunday’s matches all kicking off at the same time and Arsenal requiring help from others to secure fourth place, Cech says his team-mates must not be distracted by events elsewhere.

“We have a difficult game — let’s not forget this first,” he added.

“We will concentrate on our game and there is only one thing we can do, which is to win, and then hope the other results will go our way.”

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