Ray Parlour has insisted that he doesn’t want Arsenal to play in the newly created European Conference League.
In their bid to give more European football to clubs in the continent, UEFA has created the new competition.
With the top six teams competing in the Champions League and Europa League, the seventh-placed club in England will play in the Conference League.
Arsenal has had a poor season and could be without European football next season.
However, their late run of form has made it mathematically possible for them to play in the Conference League depending on the result of other teams on the season’s finale.
Parlour, however, feels it is better for them not to play in Europe for one season and rebuild their team instead of playing in the Conference League.
“You don’t want to be seventh, you don’t want to be playing in that,” Parlour told talkSPORT Breakfast. “I don’t want Arsenal to be playing in that.
“It might do them a favour not to be in Europe for one season. They can take stock in pre-season and say ‘look, we need to really have a go next year’.
“It just doesn’t sound right – conference! You don’t want to be in that tournament.”
With the Gunners struggling to find players to field in some positions, it is hard to argue with Parlour that playing in the Conference League is pointless.