Wenger is counting his euros

Having announced an operating loss and with the club still desperate to raise some £260m from City financiers for the proposed new stadium at Ashburton Grove, their results in Europe have made the club less attractive to potential investors.

The merchant banks and institutions Arsenal are hoping to attract look for guaranteed income streams as a means of judging the risk attached to the investment. Without the Champions League, the club are less of a sure bet - just ask Leeds

United, whose desperate financial troubles began with staking everything on regular participation in the tournament.

On the football side, Wenger's squad has already been streamlined by fiscal strictures. The lack of depth was exposed on Tuesday and will only get worse.

Once bans are meted out by the Football Association next week for the recent incidents at Old Trafford, the manager will see his selection options stretched to the limit in the race for domestic honours.

Wenger has already been told that there is no money available to augment the squad in the January transfer window and failure to sustain their Champions League run would make his team a less attractive proposition to players eligible for European competition.

Ray Parlour, who captained the side on Tuesday, said: 'We definitely need seven points from our last three Champions League games and I imagine we need to win them all. We're in a similar situation to Newcastle last season when they won their last three and went through.

'Going back into the UEFA Cup would be a bitter pill for us to swallow. The Kiev match is a big disappointment but we've got to pick ourselves up and get on with it.'

Lehmann's form is sure to cause Wenger concern. The German, signed in the summer as a replacement for David Seaman, has reserved his two worst performances for the Champions League. At fault in the 3-0 home defeat by Inter, he made a blunder for the second goal in Kiev.

Wenger refused to blame his goalkeeper, probably because he has no credible alternative. The Frenchman staked his reputation on Lehmann's suitability as a successor to Seaman, and even if he were prepared to swallow his pride, there is no money to sign another top goalkeeper.

Wenger does have Stuart Taylor, an England Under 21 international, in reserve but has shown reluctance to expose the youngster to extended spells in the first team.