Arsenal Football Club will not be featuring in next season’s UEFA Champions League after losing 4-1 to English Premiership side, Chelsea in the final of the Europa League final played on Wednesday night in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Two goals from Belgium’s Eden Hazard and one each from Oliver Giroud and Pedro ensured that the Gunners will play in next season’s Europa League group stages, with Chelsea in the Champions League.

The Europa League winners get an automatic Champions League group spot but Chelsea had already qualified by finishing third in the Premier League.

French Ligue 1 side, Lyon also qualified for the Champions League as a result of Chelsea’s win.

That is because the third placed team in Ligue 1, UEFA’s fifth highest-ranked league go straight into the group stages rather than the qualifiers if the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League through their own league.

This means a third consecutive season without Champions League football for Arsenal who finished fifth in the EPL. It is also their longest spell out of Europe’s top clubs tournament since the 1990s.

According to BBC Sport, Arsenal’s transfer budget this summer could be as low as £40 million but could have been up to £100 million if they had qualified for the Champions League.