The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell has admitted Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Aston Villa makes them favourites to finish inside the top four now.
The Gunners are battling for the last Champions League position with Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham.
They had looked like outsiders in the race for a long time, especially after losing their main goal-scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the last transfer window.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side has coped well and you can argue that they have thrived without him.
Whitwell covers Manchester United for The Athletic and you can tell he has conceded his club will not catch the Gunners.
After Arsenal’s win against Villa, he tweeted: “Big win for Arsenal. Good performance to underline their momentum for Champions League. Nothing there to suggest Manchester United can edge top four. Fading hopes hinge on game at Emirates on April 23.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We may have secured a much bigger points gap against United when we meet them on the 23rd of next month.
Even if we haven’t, on our current form, we will beat the Red Devils to get all three points and consolidate our place ahead of them and other challengers.
It is a great time to be an Arsenal fan, and it is hard to contain the excitement that we could be back in the Champions League next season.