So much for Arsenal being one of the elite soccer clubs in Europe. Three weeks after being among the instigators of the controversially closed-off and ultimately ill-fated Super League, the English team is facing the ignominy of being shut out of continental competition for the first time in 25 years. A failure to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Villarreal in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday would end Arsenal’s quarter-century run of participating in either the Champions League or UEFA’s secondary club competitions. Such a degrading of status would be ironic, considering the planned Super League — devised and then aborted within a chaotic 48-hour period last month — would have positioned Arsenal as one of 12 elite teams in the European game. The significance of the match against Villarreal, likely to be played against the backdrop of more fan protests against Arsenal’s American ownership for its involvement in the Super League project, isn’t lost on Mikel Arteta. “It is a big moment,” the Arsenal manager said. “Not for me but for the club, for everything that has happened in the last two years, in the last months, and for all the instability that we have been hit with for many different reasons. “I think it will be really important, and a big step forward, if we are able to be in that final and have the opportunity to win that trophy.” It’s not just Arteta’s future that could be on the line on Thursday. Arsenal’s ability to attract players for next season, and to retain the services of its own best players, might hinge on winning the Europa League and gaining the bonus prize of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Otherwise, it’s out of Europe, a situation Arsenal hasn’t been in since the 1995-96 season — a year that fell between the storied managerial eras of George Graham and Arsene Wenger. For Arteta, that would be unacceptable. “But it’s the reality,” he said. “It’s not what we want, obviously, but there are a lot of things that have happened in that period for many reasons. “One is the level has been raised to a standard that is unprecedented in the (Premier League) and we are not the only club that has been out of that. But obviously no one accepts that situation and we want to change it straightaway. This season, we have the opportunity to do that.” Arteta delivered the FA Cup to Arsenal in August, at the end of his first season at the club, but his position would be uncertain should his team be eliminated by Villarreal, which — adding to the weight of the occasion — is coached by Unai Emery. Emery is a Spaniard who replaced Wenger at Arsenal in May 2018, following the Frenchman’s nearly 22 years in the job. He lasted only 18 months. Arteta said the success of this season will now be determined by winning the Europa League or not. “It will be judged like this,” he said. “How good or bad job you are doing is judged by many factors by different people. Externally, it’s only when you win or lose. That is the defining moment.” Arteta’s big players need to step up against Villarreal and there’s no one bigger in the team than captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who declared upon signing a three-year deal in September that he wanted to become an “Arsenal legend.” That hasn’t materialized, because of a mixture of off-field issues — he recently contracted malaria, and also took time off in February when his mother became seriously ill — and poor form, which he partially put down to struggling to get fired up for matches because of the lack of fans in stadiums. Aubameyang, whose season tally of 15 goals in all competitions is way down on what he typically delivers, said Wednesday he owes Arteta a big performance. “I have to give something back to the club and the fans who are awaiting something from me,” the striker said on a video call. “This is the right moment to show I am capable of doing it.”

Manchester City have withdrawn from the European Super League (ESL) and Chelsea are also preparing to do so, according to reports in the British media. Efforts to leave come just two days after both were announced as two of six English clubs to sign up to the controversial new competition. The ESL has been widely criticised since being announced on Sunday, reports BBC. Around 1,000 fans gathered outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home ground before their game against Brighton on Tuesday to protest their involvement. Chelsea and City were part of English football's 'big six' clubs - alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham - to have agreed to join the new league. In total, 12 European clubs announced their intentions to form the breakaway league, which they hoped to establish as a new midweek competition. It was condemned by football authorities and government ministers in the UK and across Europe by Uefa and leagues associations. Chelsea were the first club to indicate they will not press ahead by preparing documentation to withdrawn. City withdrew soon after. Chelsea and City were not drivers of this plan, they were the last to sign and feared being left behind. It is not clear how easy it is or how binding the contracts are. The decision to try and have Chelsea leave was taken by owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board after witnessing negative global reaction to the Super League. There was a fear that it could do reputational damage to the club. Questions were raised internally as to whether fans would respond to the club if it continued with a proposal which has gone down so badly. The decision was made earlier on Tuesday before protests started outside Stamford Bridge. Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with the Football Association, Premier League officials and fans' representatives, after which the government said it will take "whatever action necessary", including legislative options, to ensure the proposals were stopped. Johnson's stance is supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. A statement released after a meeting between the Premier League and the 14 clubs not involved said they "unanimously and vigorously" rejected plans for the competition. It added that it is considering "all actions available" to stop the competition and asked the six teams to end their involvement immediately. Meanwhile late breaking reports suggest Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman of Manchester United, has handed in his resignation in the backlash of the ESL's announcement, putting in doubt whether the club will now go ahead with the breakaway league. In a parallel development TALKSport is reporting that Andrea Agnelli has resigned from his post as president of Juventus, one of 3 Italian clubs involved in the fiasco.

Watching football matches in European stadiums is always a joyful experience. But the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in significant changes in people's daily lives for the last year. All football leagues in Europe are being held behind closed doors after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus an epidemic in March 2020. According to a study, the combined loss of Europe's major football clubs due to covid-19 is more than 1 billion euros. This shows the extent of the pandemic's impact on European football! This article discusses how European football is badly affected by the pandemic covid-19. The brunt of covid-19 on European football  On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel Coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Since then the major football leagues in Europe are being played in empty stadiums. Initially, any limitations on sporting events were ruled out by the British government. But after large outbreaks at Arsenal and Chelsea, the Premier League ultimately agreed to take a 100-day break. Read: Football Transfers 2021: The hot favorites to replace Sergio Aguero at Man City The domestic leagues in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany were postponed following government directives and the rest of Europe's top leagues took long breaks as well. Euro 2020 was suspended for one year, while Europe's most prestigious club football competition champions league 2020 completed in the month of August. Fans were allowed to return to the stadium at the beginning of the year but the plan halted after the second wave of the covid-19 virus and the spread of new variants caused new lockdowns across Europe. There was a concern that teams will go bankrupt due to the stop of ticket sales, but thankfully clubs have managed to recover some initial losses. We can expect fans will return to the field soon following the start of mass vaccination programs across Europe. Read: Summer Window 2021: Five Potential Big Football Transfers The financial effects on European football due to covid-19 The loss of matchday and commercial revenue as a result of the scheduling delays has had a substantial effect on European football. The finances of 43 European clubs were investigated by KPMG, an accounting firm, and it was discovered that net profits dropped 1.2 billion euros last season. Barcelona, Juventus, and Arsenal are among the top clubs trying to convince their star-studded players to take salary cuts as a result of the covid-19. Among Europe's elite clubs, Barcelona are in a real crisis. Their current debt is in excess of $1 billion. While, according to the reports, the Premier League clubs are losing nearly $150 million every month because of the ongoing pandemic situation. Read: Lionel Messi: The Argentine Football Star’s Most Unbreakable Records Because of the epidemic, clubs are unable to spend as much as they used to at transfer windows.In the January transfer window, just $327 million was traded, less than half of what was invested in the previous transfer window. Besides that, the European Football Association suffered a significant financial loss after the cancellation of Euro 2020. To compensate for the deficit, they want at least half of the stadium's overall capacity to be filled during the forthcoming tournament. Only time will tell if this is even possible especially in the midst of the second wave covid-19 across Europe. The epidemic has resulted in significant financial losses in sponsor and broadcasting deals.However, it is anticipated that the damage predicted at the beginning of the lockdown did not happen. Read: Memorable Match Winning Knocks in Tests Bottom Line European football leagues are among the most popular sporting events in the world.Billions of euros are spent on the clubs every season.But European football is badly affected by the covid-19. Football leagues in Europe were suspended due to lockdown between March and May 2020.The spectator is a major source of revenue for the clubs. However, since the games are played behind closed doors, the clubs have missed out on millions of dollars in ticket revenue. Furthermore, due to the economic downturn affected by the pandemic, players are not being traded significantly during the transfer window.Clubs are now more relying on their own academies to form first-team squads. The recession is expected to last much longer unless the coronavirus outbreak is contained. Read: The Best ODI Batsmen of the 21st Century