Arsenal looked to be strolling towards a certain place in the Top Three after going ten games undefeated, but suddenly one loss to lowly Swansea has assured the Gunners of a nervous finish to the season. Tomorrow’s game against Man United has now become crucial to our prospects of avoiding the Champions League play-offs at the beginning of next season, and Arsene Wenger is understandably keen to avoid that fate by getting a result at Old Trafford tomorrow.
“We want to finish by going step by step and bouncing back,” Wenger stated in the pre-match preview. “It’s important to bounce back with a positive performance on Sunday.
“It is not the most comfortable situation when you have to go through Champions League qualifiers, because now the opponents are more and more difficult because the pre-seasons are shorter and more disturbed by national team games.
“We have the opportunity to avoid it so let’s do it. We have worked extremely hard throughout the whole season to come back into this position, so now let’s take advantage of the hard work that we have done and continue until the end.”
The changes to next years Champions League is going to make it more unpredictable all the way through, so it’s vital that we go straight to the Group Stages, which means getting at least a point at Old Trafford. Another side effect of missing out means we could discourage new arrivals by not guaranteeing Champions League football, and it could also persuade Wenger not to splash the cash until we get over the qualifying hurdle.
It is never an easy game to beat Man United, so I am praying that nerves don’t make the Gunners accident-prone. Keep calm lads and just do your usual job…..
Onwards and Upwards!