MY ACCOUNT
The race to seal Champions League football is wide open as all three teams in the running continue to drop points.
Just three points separate Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
And while their hopes are by no means quashed, the Gunners may just have lost form at the worst possible time ahead of a difficult trip to Chelsea tonight.
A run of five straight victories between February 10 and March 13 put Mikel Arteta’s men in the driving seat but they have struggled since.
Three points from a 1-0 win at Aston Villa are all they have collected in their last five outings and Arteta admitted after Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Southampton that his team’s form is worrying.
Pivotal battle at the Bridge
The Spaniard will urge his side to respond when they head to Stamford Bridge tonight.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues sit third in the table and while their inconsistency has cost them a shot at the title, they have gone well in the cup competitions.
Having lost to Liverpool on penalties in the Carabao Cup final, they sealed the chance for revenge by beating Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
That 2-0 win means they return to Wembley to face the Reds in next month’s showpiece.
Could that be a distraction and allow Arsenal to take advantage to reignite their top-four hopes?
The Gunners did just that last season, with Emile Smith Rowe netting the game’s only goal in May 2021 when the Blues’ focus had shifted towards their Champions League run.
Huge fixtures on the horizon
Next up for Arteta’s men is old rivals Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime before they take on West Ham a week later.
Resurgent Leeds are then on the agenda prior to the North London derby on May 12, concluding the season with games against Newcastle and Everton.
Their record against teams above them this season has been poor.
Of the seven games where they have faced opponents higher in the table, they have lost six, with only September’s 3-1 win over Tottenham to show for their efforts.
The Gunners’ success has been built around winning the matches they would expect to. Those five-straight victories came against Wolves (twice), Brentford, Watford and Leicester.
If Arsenal can beat Leeds, Newcastle and Everton, that will take them to 63 points. Last season, 67 were enough to finish in the top four, while it was 66 the previous term.
With some of those around them also playing each other, coming through games with fellow top-four hopefuls relatively unscathed could be enough.
Arsene Wenger was often criticised for suggesting that qualifying for the Champions League was the equivalent of winning a trophy.
It is five seasons since Arsenal last finished in the top four and having looked on course to break that duck, a sixth failure would be a huge setback.
