Former Arsenal star, Lauren has urged the current team to aim for a top-four finish in this campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s team has recovered from a poor start to this season to move up to fifth on the league table.
Considering the quality of some clubs below them like Manchester United, Arsenal needs to be in top form to keep rising through the league table.
Lauren believes they need to set their minds on finishing inside the top four, both individually and collectively.
He said via Mirror Football: “They must, we have to put pressure on ourselves always, both individually and collectively, to get to the Champions League places.
“That’s what I believe. You must always set high targets. They have to try and get back into the Champions League next season and then build on that for the following years because it makes such a difference getting into the top four.
“There’s Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City and then maybe there’s one place open. The reality says that you cannot fight for the league. There’s still many points but Arsenal have shown with some of the displays before Liverpool, I believe this team can get to the Champions League places.
“This team can get back to the Champions League and, from then on, they can start to build to start something. But the target has to be to get into the Champions League because the reality is that if they hadn’t started so slowly, they might have been able to win the league.
“But the target now should be to get to the Champions League positions. I believe this team is capable of getting into the top four positions. To win the league is not impossible but it’s really, really difficult.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Mikel Arteta’s rebuild is coming along nicely and most of us are happy with the progress the club has made in recent months.
But we need to avoid putting too much pressure on the players.
We finished the last campaign outside the European places, ending this one inside the top four might be an overachievement.
We don’t want to build a team that is inside the top four this year and back in mid-table the next year.
Lasting progress takes time and we deserve that.
