Mikel Arteta admits a fourth consecutive season without Champions League football would significantly complicate Arsenal’s attempts to renew the contracts of key players, suggesting a summer of difficult decisions will lie ahead if they fall short once again.

Arsenal’s Europa League defeat against Olympiakos on Thursday removed their most viable route back to the top level, with their hopes now resting on bridging an eight-point gap to fourth place domestically.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and Mesut Özil are among those whose contracts end in 2021, and Arteta admitted Champions League participation will be a huge factor in their thinking.

Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta warns top players ‘cracking’ under strain of schedule Read more

“I think that is a no-brainer,” Arteta said. “Every player in the world wants to play Champions League and if you talk about having this option on the table players are in a much more open way to join this club or to renew their contract, or [for us] to convince anybody, because we want to be in that competition.”

Asked how he would sell his vision to those players in the event Arsenal do not qualify, Arteta was at pains to highlight other factors. “There are always ways. If it’s not them, it’s their wives, that they are really happy in London. We will find a way, don’t worry.” A bleak financial picture would still hinder his attempts to twist arms.

Arsenal announced a £27.1m loss on Friday, with the club admitting their absence from the Champions League had a “significant impact”. Arteta said planning has already begun for several eventualities and emphasised the need for clear thinking.

“I think the damage caused by the club not being in the Champions League for the third season is really big. Financially the impact is enormous, because the structure of this club is built to be in the Champions League and you can sustain that for one year or two, but then after you have to start making decisions. We’ll have a very clear plan of what we want to do and, depending where we are, we have to act like this.

Arsenal reveal £27.1m loss as Champions League absence bites Read more

“It will be difficult but this is the situation we are in now. We’ve been in that situation because we haven’t performed as well as the other top four clubs have been doing. We don’t have margin for error with those decisions, so they have to be very thorough and clear processes of where we have to improve and how we are going to do that, and then go forward with no excuses.”

The sense is Arteta, who takes his team to the League One promotion-chasers Portsmouth for an FA Cup fifth‑round tie on Monday night, has taken on a rebuilding task that would cow many first-time managers but he holds complete confidence in his ability to execute Arsenal’s long-term comeback. “I’m very convinced that the way I want to do it is going to work,” he said. “I don’t know how long it is going to take, or the time and the resources, but we will find a way to do it.”