Who could have thought that Arsenal and the top four will make it in the same sentence after the Gunners lost their first three league games! But Mikel Arteta has since flipped Arsenal’s fortunes and the club now sits fourth in the table. However, Arsenal picked up 15 wins from the 22 games that followed and became serious challengers for the Champions League spots. New details have emerged from the club, with The Daily Mail reporting that Arsenal have kept whopping bonuses ready for the players if they qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Given the turn-around they have accomplished, it is safe to say that Arsenal players are fully deserving of such bonuses. Moreover, the Champions League anthem was last heard in the 2016/17 season at the Emirates. Since then, Arsenal have spent four seasons in the Europa League. A failure to qualify for any European competition left the club shell-shocked last season. But Arteta has Arsenal dreaming again with a top-four finish.
Arsenal players to get lucrative bonuses for a top four finish
Arsenal players recovered mightily after a turbulent start, and it was now the club’s turn to reward it. This call from Arsenal to pay the bonuses cloud hand-in the players another boost for a top-four finish. Of course, it’s not about the money, but the recognition the club would give provides players with a healthy environment. Moreover, after the January transfer window, where star striker Aubameyang left and no replacement was signed, Arsenal have tremendously proven their mettle.
The Daily Mail reports that the bonuses planned would be worth as much as £500,000. However, the paychecks of the bonuses will differ from player to player. And according to reports, the maximum of them is £500k. The amount is quite a significant one over the salary already being paid. Furthermore, the report states that along with the bonuses, salaries of some players could also soar high. A top-four finish for Arsenal will trigger clauses in the contracts of those players pertaining to their salaries.
A question still remains unanswered so as to how Arsenal is going to splash out the bonuses to their players? The answer is their Champions League qualification itself. A top-four finish adds £50 million to a club’s revenue in broadcasting and prize money. As a result, it becomes easy for the clubs to pay out such huge bonuses to their players.
Mikel Arteta’s top four assessment
Arsenal now sits in the fourth position, a point above fifth-placed Manchester United. Three wins from three games in February saw Arsenal go fourth and Arteta being nominated for the manager of the month award. What excites the Arsenal fans and Arteta himself is the three massive games they have in hand over Manchester United. Also, having a game in hand over Chelsea, Arsenal can cut their gap to two points over the third-placed Blues. Meanwhile, manager Mikel Arteta is keeping calm amidst these ifs and buts.
Arteta while speaking after Arsenal’s win over Watford said,
“To be fair, I don’t like to look at the table a lot because we have games in hand, we’re going to play different fixtures and I know the objective and it’s only one, to try and improve tomorrow on what we’ve done today and go into the next match and that’s it. I cannot control results and I cannot predict which matches we are going to win, draw or lose, it’s impossible. If I start to do that I think we’re going to lose focus in what we want to do,” cleared the manager.
Arsenal looks determined to play the Champions League for the first time in five years. The cherry on top of the cake would follow from Arsenal for the players in bonuses. Their last four games were all about grinding out the wins, as the Gunners won all of them with just a goal difference. Arsenal are out of all the domestic cup competitions, but that could prove a blessing in disguise as they can solely concentrate on a top-four finish.
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