The Islington Gazette has asked Unai Emery whether he believes Champions League is still possible after Arsenal’s dismal 1-0 defeat at West Ham. Read on for what he told Layth Yousif.

Declan Rice grabbed his first goal for the Irons three minutes after the interval as Manuel Pellegrini’s side dominated this East v North capital city derby.

The startling revelation by Gunners boss Unai Emery this week that the club which has been listed No6 in the Delioitte rich list of sporting enterprises and which raked in a turnover of nearly £200m is penniless in this January transfer window raised many eyebrows.

The former PSG man looked highly unimpressed at his weekly press conference when he revealed the remarkable fact that the North Londoners would have to do with loan singings as they can’t afford to pay transfer fees.

The team reflected the downbeat mood during a poor first half in which they looked flat and lethargic.

However, in a response to a question from the Gazette on if a top four spot is still available, he replied: “Now it’s more difficult, it’s clear.

“I think the most important thing for us is to recover our confidence and be more competitive.

“We need consistency over 38 matches. Now it isn’t enough at the moment. Today it’s a bad result.

“If we won we are playing against Chelsea with a three point maximum distance.

“The big opportunity for us is that we can take in our hands the possibility to be closer to them. This result makes that more difficult.”

Follow Arsenal reporter Layth on Twitter @laythy29