La Liga expert Euan McTear believes that Arsenal’s failure to qualify for Europe this season could ruin their pursuit of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported previously that the Gunners are big fans of the centre-back, who would cost around £50m this summer.

Kounde himself has confirmed that he is likely to leave the Liga club this summer after a fine season in the Spanish top-flight.

In 2020/21, the 22-year-old made 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals, and becoming an indispensable member of the starting XI.

Sevilla sealed a fourth-placed finish in La Liga and finished just nine points behind eventual champions Atletico Madrid, with Kounde a key part of that finish.

McTear, as a result, believes that Kounde would only join a club in the Champions League; Arsenal will not even be playing in the Europa League in 2021/22.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, McTear said: “Just the fact that he’s played Europa League, Champions League, Sevilla have qualified for the Champions League again.

“Once players get used to the Champions League, they tend not to throw that away too quickly so I think if Sevilla do manage to keep him, that’ll be a reason why, to play in the Champions League with them again.

“They’ve got a good project going, they were almost in the title race for a bit last season, so I think it has to be a really enticing project in the Premier League for him to leave.”