Unai Emery unexpectedly announced Danny Welbeck will leave Arsenal this summer after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Arsenal’s only chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season is if they win the Europa League after missing out on a top four finish in the Premier League.
The Gunners failed to capitalise on Tottenham’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday and can no longer catch their north London rivals unless there is a remarkable goal swing on the final day.
Arsenal are set for sweeping changes in the summer and one of the players that will leave is Welbeck, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
The England international is currently on the mend from a serious ankle injury that ended his season back in November.
There were suggestions Arsenal would look to prolong his stay despite an injury-hit five years at the club but Emery revealed he will be a free agent this summer.
“I spoke with the club and this situation, and the decision is he is going to leave,” Sky Sports quote the Arsenal manager as saying.
Since completing a shock £16m deal to sign Welbeck from rivals Manchester United in the summer of 2014, the 28-year-old has scored just 15 goals in 88 Premier League appearances.
Welbeck has never managed more than five goals in a single league campaign for the Gunners and has never started more than 20 league games in one season.
