Arsenal need to focus on the Premier League, says Alan Smith, with a top-four finish more appealing to potential new recruits than a Europa League triumph.
The Gunners remain in the hunt for Champions League qualification down two avenues in 2018-19.
A lofty league standing is still there to be shot at, as they sit a point off the pace in fifth, while another semi-final has been reached in continental competition.
Reclaiming a place among the European elite is considered to be essential to future recruitment plans, but Smith claims silverware may not offer the best route into the summer market.
The former Gunners striker told football.london: “A top-four finish, given the competition, if Arsenal and [Unai] Emery finish fourth that would be an excellent achievement.
Next Match
“You can play in the Champions League. You can attract Champions League players which is important.
“Yes, winning the Europa League would be brilliant not least because it would get them into the Champions League if they could do it.
“But a finish in the top four says something different. It's a statement of intent, it says you're not a cup team, it says you're one of the best four teams in the country.
“That's where Arsenal have been for an awfully long time before the last couple of years and that's where they need to get back to.”
The Gunners slipped out of the top four towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign in north London.
He was able to establish Arsenal as a global superpower, but was unable to book Champions League football in each of his final two seasons.
Emery was appointed to get things back on track at Emirates Stadium and has fared admirably in that quest to this point.
The Spaniard is, however, considered to still have plenty of work to do in order to return Arsenal to the level they once enjoyed under an iconic former boss.
Leicester are set to present the next hurdle for the Gunners to overcome, with a trip to the King Power Stadium set to be taken in on Sunday by a side that continue to struggle for form on the road.
