Arsenal are desperately clinging to hopes of a top-four finish this season, but our chances may well rely on Liverpool bottling it.
The Reds sit one point ahead of us in the table going into the final matches this Saturday, and we need them not to win against Middlesbrough, while we need to beat Everton.
There is a scenario where Manchester City could miss out on the top four, should they lose to Watford, while we beat Everton by a number of goals, with Liverpool winning also, but it’s most likely that the Merseyside club would make way for us to qualify.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have lost two cup finals already, and this weekend’s fixtures have a similar build-up, with the thinking that one win will earn them their spot in the Champions League for next season.
In fact, the German manager has lost his last five finals, and Klopp is trying his best to play down the importance of the tie, refusing to call it a final of any sort.
He said: “I don’t think we need different kinds of descriptions for this game, so it’s a ‘cup final’ or a ‘World Cup final’ or that it’s the most important game of however many years and everything.
“It is a football game. If we really—and I know we do—expected from ourselves that in each game we win the game, what is the difference?
“We have to defend well, we have to be good organisationally, we have to create chances and we have to score goals.
“So that is not a big difference and I don’t think that anybody needs this special motivation or whatever.”
Does Klopp sound like he is feeling the pressure? Could his nerves rub off onto his players?
Pat J
Look who’s back in town, moaners.
I was very pleased as Arsenal finally found a way to overcome the stubborn Sunderland’s 5 man defense-line and breached it with 2 goals by Sanchez. Credit must also go to Ozil and Giroud for providing him with the assists and our Great Leader Arsene too. Maybe Sanchez could have scored a hat trick in the match if Giroud handling his shot early in the game had not happened. But that’s just for academic exercise.We had a bad patch, worse than Arsene has known, during this time he prepared his team, and they want out and failed, in part to him, in part to them, in part to bad luck , but largely in part to some very slanted refereeing. But in that patch which nobody could foresee lasting unprecedentedly long Arsene has found a system to get the players believing in themselves again, having the confidence to play again, and is getting the best out of our best players, (I personally think Arsene will switch between the two formations opponent/situation depending next season), our manager managed the team, the players, and got them back on track.
I am proud of Arsenal’s record this season. Yes, like every other team, they have had bad patches and poor performances. The difference is that they have been additionally harmed by consistently incompetent and/or biased refereeing. Over the season that must have cost at least 10 points. (more, in effect, as the points in question have been awarded to our opponents). Without going through the reviews for the whole season, to validate my estimate, I would refer simply to the Man City away game, where they scored two goals which should have been disallowed for off-side. That should have been 3 more points for Arsenal and 3 less points for Man City. Just consider the impact of that single fixture on the current league table.
CHEER UP MOANERS, 4TH IS STILL POSSIBLE AND GET BEHIND THE TEAM.
KUDOS ARSENE.
SHUT UP LOSERS. 4TH IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE. AND I AM ALWAYS BEHIND MY TEAM.
I have to say I don’t care anymore and I am definitely not “desperately clinging to hope”.
Do I think Europa league would be a greater burden than CL? Yes, I do and I think the Europa league would make it near impossible for Arsenal to regain a top 4 finish. Having said that the real reason it is impossible to regain any serious status is Wenger staying, so 4th or 5th really doesn’t matter if you look at it from that perspective.
I have to say your boring condescension aside, think it’s pretty obvious that you’re a joke of a fan.
That there may still be events and factors beyond our control that will probably astound us this weekend, who knows the scousers will choke. Support the team you useless joke of a fan.
Jembut, surely you do realise that there is not enough desire at Arsenal to win the biggest prizes. The board are crap but the teams desire to win is down to who the manager signs and how he handles them. Players are responsible too but Wenger seems to care too much on how they feel about him.
I understand your frustration, but supporting the club, the players, and the manager is the decent fans should be all about.
It’s just unfortunate we are not in the hands of an ambitious owner even though we have a classy well know respected manager globally who will do anything to win. I’m proud to be a Gooner and always will be and the Stadium is a monument to the fans’ faith. We have millions in the bank. We bring in millions every match day. No need to backtrack? I’m not in the slightest, you’re making up various assertions though. The fact that our football remained good, if ultimately unsuccessful, throughout the times we couldn’t afford to lose Ozil and Sanchez allows me to respect Arsene even more.
Kroenke’s major sports failure isn’t just a one-year thing, a temporary downturn. Stan knows what we’ve been through and he knows the direction we are headed as a franchise and it’s all about the money to him. Does he know? Does he really? A good owner, one who paid attention and actually wanted to win?
Kroenke is the main issue at arsenal fc, not wenger.
On that one I completely agree with you.
Wenger is that you? Pls leave this Club
We can’t continue wishing other teams to bottle it like we’ve done.
We had the chance to nick it from Liverpool. 1 draw against them would have been enough. But they did a double over us. As it stands, they deserve it better.
And Wenger should stop blaming other teams for not doing us favours…by labelling them being on the bench or holiday. He should take responsibility for the teams’ failures and stop deflecting.
Wish the team all the best in the last match of the season.
Arsene’s note as being now officially a senior citizen, with all its attendant benefits has made us true fans much more appreciative of life and football.
HEAR, HEAR.
God’s Plan for Aging:
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys, and other things, thus doing more walking.
And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God saw there was another need. In His wisdom He made seniors lose coordination so they would drop things, requiring them to bend, reach, and stretch.
And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature, requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise. God looked down and saw that it was good.
So if you find as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it’s God’s will. It is all in your best interest even though you mutter under your breath.
Nine Important Facts to Remember as We Grow Older
#9 Death is the number 1 killer in the world.
#8 Life is sexually transmitted.
#7 Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
#6 Men have 2 motivations: hunger and hanky panky, and they can’t tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich.
#5 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.
#4 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.
#3 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
#2 In the 60’s, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.
#1 Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow.
Please share this wisdom with others while I, Arsene who built this club go to the bathroom.
What a fountain of wisdom from our master of beatiful art of football.
KUDOS ARSENE.
All Almighty Satan is in Town!
Liverpool won’t mess up under Klopp. Expect another high score against relegated Middlesbrough.
We had our chance and Wenger and the players messed it up.
Wenger Out
“We had our chance and Wenger and the players messed it up. Wenger Out.”
Really, is that all you got? What a plastic fan.
Most football fans are incapable or unwilling to look beyond changing the manager. The reality behind arsenal’s struggles go beyond wenger and are an inconvenient and complex issue.
If, as the extreme WOBs have claimed, all of arsenal’s woes stem from wenger – the lack of spending, cash hoarding etc, we are in a great position.
Wenger will stay and you have to deal with it.
Happy days ahead.
This pathetic so called “true” fan is brainwashed to be negative by biased medias and many low IQ pundits whose showering the constant negativity surrounding our beloved classy team led by our great master Arsene. Don’t think, it may sprain your brain!
Ga ga goo goo
C’mon Liverpool.
Win Sunday and get rid of
the Arsenal 4th place
greedy 8 mill a year dictator.
This is Arsenal FC not Arsene FC.
This club belongs to millions of Arsenal fans not
greedy selfish ego driven megalomaniacs Kroenke and Wenger.
Losing to pools, really? and you dare to call yourself a fan? What a joke fan.
But your right on Kroenke is the biggest problem at Arsenal, not our beloved Arsene the Prof.
I was going to give you a nasty look but I see that you’ve already got one.
Does Stan know? Does he really? A good owner, one who paid attention and actually wanted to win, would have reacted to such relentless failure by cleaning house.
Can Arsene offer himself a new contract to sign?
Take a deep breath, buddy, and think a while with your limited so called brain.
I’m gonna have to back A Ramsey up a little bit here. One thing I hate about a footballer is when things start to get tough and they go hiding. We have a good few who do this, they stop looking for the ball, stop calling, making runs, and stay out of limelight so they don’t get blamed for doing anything visibly wrong. I hate players who do that.
That is why I’m never as harsh or Ramsey as many others. Alexis is like Ramsey in that sense. He keeps plugging away, keeps calling for the ball, even if he made mistakes directly before calling for it, he would still say why didn’t you give me the ball. But unlike Alexis Ramsey has not got a killer finish in him, but I respect players who try, and I can never abide a player who lets his head drop and stays out of fan focus.
Also I don’t like when fans are stubborn, with bias, for favorite players and disliked players. Not every fan will aim to be as fair as possible when watching a performance, Ramsey put in decent performances over the last few games, even v Sun he created allot of space for Ozil and co by taking runners and making dangerous runs. Before Sun he was one of the highest in marks on the paper’s player ratings. Against Sun he done nothing wrong really, him and about five others did ok while the other five put in very good displays. But I remember seeing people single him out still, which I think is just sad really, just try to be honest dudes and not to scapegoat for the sake of sparing some fav’s or having a go.
Wenger you know nothing Shame on you, how do you speak to your kids, that coming last in school is a good thing as long as your handwriting is good?? Conte won the league first season n you are dragging for 4th place hoping Liverpool lose..