Theo Walcott today claimed the Arsenal squad are motivated by their desire not to wreck the club’s record of Champions League qualification.
The Gunners are seeking their 16th consecutive appearance in Europe’s premier club competition and will secure an August play-off at least should they beat Newcastle in Sunday’s final Premier League match.
They could yet seal third place should they win by two goals at St James’ Park and Chelsea draw at home to Everton, but Walcott insists they are only focused on finishing above Tottenham and avoiding a season in the Europa League.
“We are aware we could finish third but we just want to win [against Newcastle],” he said after scoring in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Wigan at Emirates Stadium last night. “That’s our main target. If it happens, great but I want to recover well first and try and get a big win.
“It is big for the future of the club and the players. We have been in the Champions League for the last 15 years and we don’t want to be the players who are not part of that. We know how important it is to the manager and the club itself.
“It is all eyes on the Champions League at the moment for us. We want to keep our form going. We haven’t lost now in a long time. I have lost count to be fair.”
