Arsenal could end this season without Champions League football despite going so close to clinching a return to the top four.
The Gunners need to win and for Tottenham to lose before they can finish fourth on the last day of the league season.
Arsenal has reached this height despite not starting this campaign well, but they might settle for Europa League football, eventually.
Considering how close they have come, fans would be disappointed if they don’t finish inside the top four, but ESPN claims the club has overachieved.
The report claims they didn’t expect to make the top four by the end of this season when it started.
This means failure to return to the UCL will change nothing about the club’s long-term plans.
If they secure a top-four finish, they might have to plan differently, but they will not be disappointed if Mikel Arteta’s men fall short.
Just Arsenal Opinion
This has been a good season for us and a top-four finish would be a very nice bonus.
We have made so much progress despite competing against clubs with better players and squad depth.
We need to build on our finish to this campaign. Hopefully, Arteta will get the backing he needs in the transfer market.
Very hard to convince some to look at it this way.
Good luck 😉
We ended last season on 61 points and in 8th place….If we input that points total into this seasons table take a guess where we would finish…5th! So what does this tell us? It clearly shows that our competitors have had a bad season more than we’ve had a good one.
We’ve lost the same amount of games as last season, have a worse goal difference and conceded more goals this campaign with our “improved” defence. All of this while having less games than competitors.
We’ve got a few more points this season yes but after spending over 200 mil it’s really not what you can call progress.
I’m sorry but I fail to see “We have made so much progress” stated by the author
It tells me that we have had a better season than them and our competitors have gone backwards apart from Spurs. I’m not sure it is possible to dress it up any other way
I’m not surprised that the aim was the EL. Clearing out so many players in January when top 6 was highly achievable meant to me that the push for 4th with a trimmer squad was more fanciful than realistic. Didn’t stop me being mortified by how it’s turned out though
Yes I agree Sue, our competitors have gone backwards and we have progressed by very little if anything (this season anyway).
My concern is Conte seems to be having more and more influence + he’ll have a proper transfer window under his belt by next season.
Man U will likely be much improved under Erik although I hope this isn’t the case.
Leicester have had some big players out that will be back next season.
Newcastle a complete unknown at the moment, more likely a threat in 2-3 years I hope.
My point being we won’t be as lucky as we were this season with our competitors unlikely to all have as bad a season as they have had again.
Yes, PJ-SA
Next season will be interesting and I understand your worry that other clubs will build and get stronger. All I can add is that it is down to Arteta and Edu to do better in the transfer market than our competitors and make it pay dividends.
For lots of JA posters, the CL league years are largely all they have known – my kids included. During this time, it would have seemed an impossibility that Arsenal could have slipped. I thought top4 was inevitable. The dominance of Arsenal and ManU was then shattered by Chelsea and ManC but we could still get into the CL because the chasing pack were not good enough. Changes in ownership throughout brought about a seismic change in fortunes and expectations. Leicester for example is trying to join. Next it is Newcastle. Liverpool who hadn’t won the league hired Klopp and their success on the field has increased their ability to buy the best and maintain the highest level.
My long winded point is that there are many clubs that are now in a position to compete whereas before the money bags owners came in such large numbers, the CL was very small club indeed. I strongly believe that when we relinquished our CL status it was imperative to get back straightaway or the clubs snapping at our heels would take advantage. This had indeed happened and in many ways the chances of getting into the CL places has evened out as more clubs and their wealthy owners, are investing to make that happen. A top4 place for Arsenal is not a gimme anymore. More is the pity.
@PJ-SA
I just don’t get this skewed reasoning that people always use.
How the likes of United, Spurs, Chelsea, Leicester, Newcastle were poor and will only improve next season while we will not improve.. The same people predicted that this season we will be lucky to get into the Top 6. People were mocking how Arsenal will be lucky to finish above 8th. How the team will be fighting relegation etc..
So all of a sudden next season Rashford, Macguire etc are going to turn into super players next season while the likes of Saka will just get worse or stagnant.
The likes of Leicester will become supermen next season while we at Arsenal will remain stagnant or even get worse.
I just never get get.. So the other teams will always get better while we will always get worse according to this very popular reasoning..
I wish these people could have given me those Euro millions numbers a few weeks ago, The jackpot was a walloping £170 million.. These people are mystics. Can predict the future..
I never said we won’t improve, where did I say that?
You listed all other teams insinuating that they are more likely to improve while we on the other hand won’t be as lucky as we were this season. You listed the likes of United, Spurs, Leicester, Newcastle in a more positive light (how they are more likely to do much better next season. But on the other hand you put arsenal in a much more negative light, using terms like “We won’t be as lucky blah blah”.. How do you know that we won’t do even much better than then once again next season? How do you know that it won’t be the same as this season? How do you know that we won’t be much more consistent as compared to the likes of Spurs, United, Neecastle, Leicester etc?
Talking up others (hyping up our rivals) while degrading us on the other hand.. The only teams that are 90% more likely to stay where they are are City and Liverpool. The other 2 places are always up for grabs between the rest of us..
Shut up!! You little liar,you said we won’t be as lucky as this next season which insinuates that we won’t get any better.
I fail to understand you PJ-SA.
Yes last season Arsenal got 61 points, which last season saw us in 8th.
This season, we have 66 (now) which last season would have seen us end in 5th.
If we beat Everton, we end on 69 points. Last season Liverpool finished THIRD with 69 points.
Can you please explain your point, please!
Incorrect. 66 points would end us at 6th due to GD compared to last season but yes there is potential to end on 69 points I agree.
Point being last season we ended on 61 points and ended 8th. This season, hypothetically, if we had an identical season and also got 61 points we would end 5th. 8th place this season is on 51 points, 10 points lower than last season.
This shows regression by some competitors within the top 8 spots.
As I mentioned we have gathered a few more points this season. We have spent a lot on the defence but our defence has gotten worse despite the addition of Ramsdale that has also being talked about as one of the best GKs this season. We’ve also only scored 1 more goal than last season.
So overall my opinion is that we have made very little progress, you don’t have to share that opinion 🙂
I kind of understand the point your making PGsa, but it’s floored
In reality, because we have gained more points by beating the two teams directly below us, who would of got more point had we not beat them….
Also visually you might have a point in saying we have made little
Progress, but this would be the 3rd season where we have gained more points than the last, so if this trend continues to happen in a couple of seasons we could be champions 🤔
Hard to tell, because the club has avoided making any goals public. After the Wenger and Emery 4th or else goals which saw them sacked, the club has gone silent.
No standards or goals were established, so 8th was excusable. No goals set this year by the club regarding top 4 or top 6, so anything better than 8th can be sold as “progress.”
Probably wise to avoid setting any expectations, but as a fan I would like to hear what the club expects.
Instead, we get sold a “project” or “process” and asked for patience, but no mention of goals to see if progress is made, how to judge, and what the standards are.
So far I can only infer that top 6 is the new top 4; some fans are pleased with 5th, manager gets contract extended, and no comments from players.
Hopefully we will hear about expectations from the club next year, but I won’t hold my breath.
For your information, this 5th position may be the best position for Arsenal for the next 5 years. Never say never.
Let us accept that we have earned more points than last year. So well done the team. The next big question is whether we will improve again next year playing twice a week for much of the season. The answer must be ‘no’ judging by the fatigue which has shown recently amongst the players. We could barely fill a bench with battle hardened players for that final game.
It’s been a mixture this season. Overall, to finish 5th with such a young squad is outstanding.
But, to blow it when 4th was pretty much in the bag was so disappointing. Also, the decision making in January was very poor as well.
Met their expectations!
Lol .
No doubt DK…even our novice manager publicly set his sights a little higher…not to mention, the “eye test” failing grade, once again!!!
Its on record that we have the youngest and leanest squad in the league which was a part of the process and with that we made 5th which i believe was the expectations at the beginning of this season.
The next step to this project is to add experience and star players to the mix to upgrade the whole team, and enough space has been cleared for that to be possible while most of the young stars will have more games to play and be fresh and in form if they can proof themselves even as the team gels better.
So i conclude by saying that we met the expectations and we will build on it to aim higher.
It’s obvious that the club set a Top 6 target for Arteta.. So there was no way they were going to turn back on their promise just because he tanked 4th place at the last minute…
That’s like being set a target at your workplace, you hit it at the end of the season even if it’s obvious for everyone to see that you coulr have done much better given the circumstances. You will not get sacked just because you did not improve on the set target.. Your bosses would be deemed unethical and dishonest…
Very disappointing end to the season but
What a load of balony, Arsenal expected 4th at least and from January expected 4th without a doubt. From a position of strength to where we are is a cronic failure of this club. Even if the article has a grain of truth in it which i doubt, anything less than CL football expectations would show a major lack of ambition. To hide behind false logic, is shameful.