Do You Want Arsenal To Finish in the Top 7? By Dan Smith
So, we now know what we have to do to be in Europe next season. Win the FA Cup and it doesn’t matter where we finish in the League. Yet finishing in the top 7 would give us that insurance policy of qualifying for the Europa League, regardless of the result at Wembley.
To do that we have to win our final two games and hope Wolves and/or Spurs slip up. Even if that happens, we need goal difference to swing our way. That’s how far we have fallen.
We are hoping the likes of Wolves drop points just so we can squeeze into UEFA’s secondary competition.
Remember when supporters moaned about ‘only finishing in the top 4 and winning the odd FA Cup’. Now we ‘only win the FA Cup’ but battle to be in the top 7.
Wolves currently have a 5-goal advantage. Spurs have 6.
It’s more realistic we catch Wolves as they are at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham are at Palace who are on holiday.
If we tie goal difference, positions are based on goals scored, which would put us ahead of Wolves but not our London rivals (making our mistakes in the NLD even more vital).
We have two matches against sides in the bottom 4 so it’s not unrealistic we get 6 points while scoring a few goals. Yet do Gooners care?
To be fair a section of our fan base has said for a while if it’s not the Champions League they would rather it be nothing.
Yet isn’t that the equivalent of the love of your life dumping you. After they humiliated you in public, moved out, threw the engagement ring in your face, then you find out they are dating someone else ….at which point you weakly claim to your friends/family, ‘I didn’t love him or her anyway!’.
Part of football banter is giving it out, but sometimes you have to take it. Saying we don’t care about the Europa is kind of taking the easy way out in my opinion.
Arteta had admitted his transfer budget will be based on if there is European Football at the Emirates. That in itself is a worrying insight into how the pandemic has affected us financially as the tournament hardly has the revenue the Champions League does.
I would rather be in the Europa, as the first step to our long-term plan of ever challenging again has to be getting back into club football’s most lucrative competition.
If you’re like me and you have zero faith in Stan Kroenke showing any ambition this summer, you have to ask is this current squad good enough to be in next season’s top 4? If the answer is no, then why not give yourself as many chances as possible?
Winning the Europa is far more likely than us finishing top 4.
We wouldn’t be favourites but it’s a trophy you can win with a bit of luck of the draw.
So, do you want Arsenal to finish in the Top 7 or not?
Dan Smith