Of course it will not be nice for Arsenal fans to finish behind our north London rivals Tottenham this season. It would have been a whole lot worse, however, if the spuds had managed to keep their momentum going and pip Leicester City to the title so we are all mightily relieved to see the Foxes of Claudio Ranieri hang on and finish off their fairytale season.
As long as Arsenal now finish the season in the top four, which seems almost certain as we have Aston Villa at home on the final day, the repercussions of us surrendering the long held dominance of north London will be nothing more than bruised pride, because the way the Champions League pots are arranged for the draw now only give precedence to the Champions of each country, and Arsene Wenger´s comments reported by Sky Sports this week are intended to make sure that this pride should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
Even if Spurs finish second and we have to get through a play off, the Gunners will have a better UEFA coefficient and will be in a higher pot, because it is Arsenal that has the consistent record of qualifying for the elite European club competition and Tottenham that has almost always had to suffer the disappointment of missing out.
While reminding our rivals of this little fact the Frenchman also decided to pile on the pressure ahead of their game against Southampton tomorrow by reminding them that, although the chances are that they will finish above us for the first time since Wenger took over the job of Arsenal boss, they could still muck it up as they have in the past.
Wenger said, “It is still an important game, even if Leicester are champions and we are second best.
“It is still a very important game because part of the responsibility of being a professional is to prepare the future, and the future of Arsenal Football Club depends on this game.
“Our target now is to secure a position in the Champions League next year and, if possible, to get in second place or at least secure third place. On Sunday, we can achieve that.
“Tottenham had a very good season. They didn’t manage to finish very strongly recently but overall, they had a very good season and they have a strong team.
“But our target is still, if possible, to get in front of them.
“If they do that, you can at least say it is a one-off because in 20 years, it has happened once.
“But at the moment, it is not done.”
Nice one Arsene. And after the way the pressure got to the Spurs players in their last game and they lost their heads against Chelsea, a little bit of extra pressure is just what they need don´t you think Gooners?