Owen Hargreaves has claimed that Tottenham should be able to seal the fourth and final Champions League spot for next season after Arsenal failed to beat Southampton today.
The Gunners had the chance to draw level with Spurs on 57 points with a win today after seeing them lose to Brighton in the early-afternoon, but once again we failed to bring home the points.
It was the Saints first win in seven matches, and leaves us with slim hopes of climbing back inside the top four, and looking ahead to our next matches we have plenty to be alarmed about.
Owen Hargreaves has taken that all in to name Tottenham as the side who are most likely to claim fourth after seeing the latest performances, with our upcoming fixtures definitely a big task.
‘Fixture-wise, it’s tough for Arsenal,’ he said on Premier League Productions(via the Metro). ‘They struggled against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton.
‘They’ve got Chelsea, Man United, West Ham, Leeds and Tottenham coming up. Looking at Arsenal’s fixtures I’m saying no.
‘I know they’re close but if you’re losing and not scoring against Palace, Brighton and Southampton, you’re going to struggle. It’s made it really difficult for them.
‘Tottenham are still in the driving seat because they’re ahead. Arsenal have that game in hand but I think Arsenal will fall short with the fixtures they’ve got.
‘Manchester United are just too inconsistent. Tottenham should be able to get the job done.’
While I doubt our credentials, I also doubt each of our rivals equally. Spurs proved today that they are no solid bet, and can only rank as the most likely because of the points that are already on the board. Man United are equally as inconsistent, while West Ham are mathematically a little too far away to be considered currently.
I wouldn’t be putting money on anyone at any odds personally, and while I don’t think we have what it takes right now, we could be one win away from finding our edge again, and from watching all the sides this season, it has been us who has looked to most likely to string a sequence of wins together.
Are Spurs clear favourites for fourth or do you agree that nobody deserves that tag?
Patrick
Gunners, we ought to be the top 4.
And i kno we are going to be in the top 4. For live.
Can we now finally agree that Saka is not all that.
No right foot, no defensive ability etc, etc. Nketiak should be happy to get a game anywhere above a Sunday league and Ramsdale should have been dropped for the near post goal weeks ago not because of injury. Martinelli was the only player in the team willing to run at the defence. I’ve been behind Arteta all the way but he’s making it hard now.
I disagree. The criticism is over the top
Saka’s form and performances have tailed off recently but he is still a great player.
Nketiah has not been good enough for a team aiming for a top four spot but would be a reasonable option for a team with less lofty ambitions. Ramsdale’s performances have also been subpar recently but over the course of the season he has mostly performed creditably.
So why is Arteta not rotating these players? Cab he not see that their performances have been sub-par? Saka isn’t in form and Pepe cannot get a start to save his life. Ramsdale isn’t playing well and Leno cannot get a game. What’s then the use of having a bench?
Arteta as bought in 12 players and spent 250 million pounds in the process (not trust the process)apart from maybe 3 of those signings the rest are no better than what we had 2 -3 years ago .
Now after listening to his interviews this week and him talking about needing transfer window after window because it’s a slow build that does not bode well ,you cannot keep spending money while not giving something in return ,how much more money does he want to waste before he gets it right ?it just does not work like that .
I’ve said it all season as have a lot of another fans that the job is way to big for him ,it’s like we have turned into an early learning centre for him to practice on .
He’s not good enough and should have been sent packing last season but now the club seem to be trying to save face hoping that he can get it right by using this young squad excuse and it’s going to take time .
I think it’s gonna take for Arteta to blow another 150 million and for the wheels to come off next season before the board and fans open their eyes to this make believe process… As usual the season will fall apart before the world cup Dan, then we might see the club calling an end to this charade then his fan club can follow him on his next adventure.
I bet you, with this form, Arsenal may not even make Europe. They had better be thinking of getting an experienced Manager because Arteta seems to have lost it.