Topic – Will Arsenal play Champions League football next season?
The final stretch, the last lap, or perhaps what can be best described as the business end of the premier league season, is set to commence after the international break. Business end indeed as the upcoming results and the final league position will have a huge say in impacting summer signings and outgoings as well. Do we stand a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League next year? Hand over heart, it’s a loud YES for all Gooners. But is it that straightforward? Perhaps not. Let’s take a closer look.
If we are to replicate the points table from last season, then the remaining 10 matches will fetch us 20 points which will have Arsenal at 74 pts for the season. 74 was enough to qualify for top 4 in 7 of the last 10 seasons. However, the 4th placed team had an average of 71 points over the same period of time. Yes we do have an edge, but it’s not too sharp!
Let’s also take a look at the competition. For now we assume that West Ham and Wolves are out of the equation. That leaves us with Manchester United and Tottenham who are snapping at our heels for the 4th position. That is to say, of course, that Chelsea comfortably holds on to the 3rd spot which won’t be a walk in the park. But if Chelsea slips then let’s just consider it as a bonus for us.
Both United and Spurs are breathing down our necks and also have a relatively easier fixture list coming up. What can give us some confidence against Tottenham is, well, that Tottenham is Tottenham. Brilliant one day and agonising the next. The defining change this year, though, is Antonio Conte who will do everything he can to ensure that Tottenham doesn’t behave like Tottenham does. Fingers crossed on this one.
For Manchester United it’s yet another season without any trophies. Inconsistency has plagued them, and with no clear path in sight till the end of the season, the inconsistencies might continue. That just leaves the small matter of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who won’t accept anything less than a top 3 finish. If he is able to rally the rest of the boys then we’ll need to have fingers crossed on this one as well.
The edge that Arsenal has over both these teams is the consistency that Arteta has brought in. The red cards and mistakes leading to goals have thankfully dried up. We can now trust this team to deliver what the coach asks of them on a consistent basis.
Trust the process. Trust the process.
This edge is what will probably help Arsenal pip the other two contenders. For now, let’s stock up the refreshments and gear up for a roller coaster business end to the Premier League 2021-22 season.
Hasit Mankodi
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Top four is sure
I strongly believe Arsenal will finish 4th. Spurs still have Liverpool at Anfield, Arsenal at their Lane & other unpredictable teams that torture them. 4 United, I counted them out last month.
I don’t see Man Utd beating Arsenal in Emirates stadium this season. That is another point of confident.
We’d likely beat Man United at home and maybe West Ham too since they’re tired, but we have to visit Chelsea’s and Spuds’ turfs
I think it’s probably fair to say that Wolves are now out of contention, the Leeds comeback did for them, but West Ham could put a run together and if the other teams involved results go against them they still have a bit of a shout
Spurs & ManU probably have the edge on us because they have more goals in their teams but they won’t be looking forward to playing us and of course we are still very much in the race
Great fun
Fingers crossed, we will finish in top four this season if we continue the way we are playing right now..
It is going to be a suspenseful ending to a season. Two consecutive losses to any of the contenders could result to to a problem. They are going to push each other to the limit.
I take nothing for granted its six teams fighting for two spots.
Forget about the North London derby, forget about Man United, The biggest match of the remaining ten will be at Selhurst park.
Fresh from his recent induction in the hall of fame our own legend stand in our way.
My eyes remain on the third spot, guided by history
I’m a bit concerned about our 4 main men. ESR, Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard. Like many of our players they are young and burn out is still a big issue with youngsters. The unfortunate thing is there is no depth in the squad in those areas, certainly not of any experience other than Pepe. This for me is the biggest issue when we look to strengthen in the summer, what experienced player is going to want to lay 2nd fiddle to those 4? When you see how many minutes Pepe is getting? And that others have had to go on loan or seek pastures new.
Imagine if we did sign a striker of Haalands, stature. Who else is going to want to join and be his understudy?
Atid if we sign Haalands, that would be a statement signing,
Such a signing would be the ideal situation to keep Laca, hardly anyone other from another marquee striker would complain.
Signing Haalands would not only send a strong message across the league, but triggers off something on a much grander scale.
Its interesting as both Haalands and Sander Berge from Norway would make a great addition to our team
Getting to 4th will all come down to which team is most consistent. We cant underestimate any team in the PL and all our remaining games must be treated as Cup finals starting with the Palace game. What I am only worried is the squad depth and hopefully there are no burn outs, injuries and suspensions. If we continue to play the way we are doing right now, our consistent run can be maintained and we could make the top 4.
It well may be that the pressure to achieve top 4 may cause the team to revert to the negative type of football that we have seen earlier in the season. If this happens, then I doubt that we will reach top four. We are possibly the youngest team in the PL but when the pressure is on there is a need for older experienced heads of which we have few. As pressure mounts, the young players will give,
without doubt their all, and as many have said burn out and injury is a real concern. The majority view is that we have not many class options for many key positions and that could be the difference as to our final position.
Need a win & draw against Spurs and United. That will be like points taken off them which will give some breathing space for us.
Oh nooo!just when we stopped talking/getting red cards,you brought it up, I’m not superstitious but some would say that you’ve jinxed it.
the only problem for Arsenal could be injuries to key players. There’s a couple on there, Partey and Laca for example, who I’d be very worried to see out with a long term problem