Arsenal took a big stride in their bid to qualify for the Champions League with the 3-1 win over Manchester United, and Nuno Tavares seems to insist that his side are focused on their goals.
The Gunners know that they will claim a place in next season’s Champions League if they were to win all of their remaining fixtures, with Tottenham as their main rivals for the all-important fourth spot.
Our win today means that United are surely out of the running, with us now holding a six-point advantage over them whilst having played a match less, while all eyes will turn to Tottenham’s tough match at Brentford this evening as they look to join us on 60 points.
Whilst we were impressive in gaining the points today, Tavares gave himself little cause for celebration, with our attentions immediately turning to the upcoming five matches left.
“We won and I got my first goal. It was amazing,” he told Arsenal Media after the full-time whistle.
“We started very hard, we wanted to put pressure on United and we got it. Now we are closer to achieve our objective. It’s the most important. Now we have five finals to go.”
Tavares then described how Xhaka’s goal was crucial in sealing those three points, adding: “It was like ‘we can breathe’. We were closer to winning the game, and we did it.”
Today’s win was extremely important, but Tavares is right about us needing to stay focused on the next few games with so much to play for.
We’ve been harsh on Tavares after his most recent performances, but he appears to have put them behind him this week, and we are seriously profiting from it.
I’m hoping that Tottenham can allow us some wiggle room as we look to close in on fourth, but at this moment in time, everything is looking like it will gear up to be decided in the North London Derby.
Patrick