Ainsley Maitland-Niles admits Arsenal are now dreaming of a return to the Champions League. The Gunners beat Newcastle 2-0 on Monday night to move ahead of Tottenham and Manchester United into third place in the Premier League table.
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Arsenal have had to make do with playing in the Europa League over the past two seasons, having failed to finish in the top four, but they could correct that record in 2018-19. After 19 successive years in the Champions League before their recent slip, Unai Emery replaced Arsene Wenger last summer and was tasked with taking the club back into Europe’s elite club competition.
Now Maitland-Niles, who made his Arsenal debut in a 2014 Champions League group game against Galatasaray but has not played in the competition since, is eyeing a return. “It’s every team’s dream to play Champions League football,” he told arsenal.com
“It’s the best European competition in the world. To play against all the big teams would be fantastic and you get to test yourself fully. “That’s all we wanted to do, to go out there and win. We’ve made one step closer to succeeding.”
