It wasn’t long ago that Arsenal fans were less than satisfied with the club’s ambitions when Arsene Wenger was delivering consistent top 4 finishes season after season.
Since the Gunners’ last Premier League win in the 03/04 season to the 15/16 season, the North London club has finished in 4th 6 times, 3rd 4 times and 2nd twice before finishing outside of a Champions League position for the first time in the 16/17 season. Since then it has felt as if the club has just spiralled lower and lower.
This season, after a very poor start under Unai Emery, the North London club are in 10th place with 14 games to go; this means a possible 42 points to be won with the club needing to grab most of those points to have a genuine chance of finishing in top 4.
With Arsenal’s current team this looks to be unlikely. Betting site SkyBet giving the North London side 1/20 odds to make it to the top 4.
As it stands the Gunners are 11 points off the top 4 and are yet to play some of the top teams including Man City and Liverpool, the top 2 teams in the League currently.
Defensive weakness has been the primary aspect that has let Arsenal down this season in the Premier League, sitting on a goal difference of -2.
The Emirates club have tried to bridge that defensive gap with the signings of Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari, improving the prospects for Mikel Arteta’s side to rise up the table.
Tactically, under the new head coach Arteta, Arsenal have felt sharper and, most importantly, more positive in their playing style than they did under Unai Emery. If the Gunners can utilise the attacking force of Pepe, Aubameyang, Lacazette and Ozil alongside the stronger defence then points should roll in.
Ultimately it could be too late for Arsenal to finish in the top 4, a huge gap of points means that the Gunners’ place is dependant heavily on other teams slipping up.
The atmosphere at the Emirates has been struggling more than it has done in many years and the idea this could be turned around in such a short amount of time is hard to believe.
What seems most likely is that Arteta’s side will push on and improve their results to claim a probable top 6 finish to confirm their place in the Europa League, it isn’t exciting but it is a must for Arsenal to stay a top side.
