Even Arsene Wenger admitted that his Arsenal side are in danger of missing out on our usual Champions League place and having to play in the dreaded Europa League next season, after the Gunners terrible second half of the season continued with the bore draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
So just how desperate is the situation for Arsenal? Well first of all we should look at our chances of finishing in the top three, something the boss said just last week was very important in order to avoid the lottery and nuisance of a play off. The point at the weekend left us level on points but behind third placed Man City because of goal difference and with theirs being eight better than ours you would think that we need to take more points than City over the final three games to finish above them.
We have Norwich at home before traveling to Man City and finishing off with Aston Villa at the Emirates and obviously we need to win the first and third and not lose the middle match, but will that be enough and what chance of drawing at the Etihad do Arsenal have? That depends on how the two Champions League semi-final games affect City.
The first leg is in Manchester tonight and as long as they head to Madrid with a chance I can see them dropping points in Southampton at the weekend. Whether or not they go through, I reckon City will give Arsenal a good chance the following weekend but it is anyone’s guess how we perform. In general this season we have performed better against the bigger sides and we have already beat City at home. Hopefully that will continue.
If we cannot finish above City then we are looking over the shoulder at a Man United side boosted by gaining a place in the FA cup final. Their remaining games are at home to Leicester, away to Norwich and West Ham and at home to Bournemouth. Three of those teams have a lot to play for and despite United’s FA cup success I reckon they will drop points.
So in my opinion, two wins and a draw will be enough to see us finish first while two wins and a loss at Man City or even a win, a draw and a loss should be enough for a Champions League place. Do you think we will do it and in which position will Arsenal finish?