Now the questions begin about just where will we end up? by Shenel
With just 10 games left to go before the end of the season we won’t have long to wait to see where we end up!
After the latest round of international games our attentions now turn back to league action where after 10 remaining games we will know our fate in the race to the top four.
There is no doubt that the remaining fixtures are going to be tense, and each game will be and must be treated as a final where the boys will be expected to give their all.
And every game, no matter the opponent, is going to be tough. As we have seen from previous games in the league any team can beat each other on their day, and with the amount of inconsistencies that have occurred so far I am sure there will be lots more twists and turns to come, where I am praying they will be positive for us and not so much for those around us in the table!
But no matter what happens, come the end of the season it is surely going to be an exciting run in and one that we hope our boys do enough to be able to finish in fourth place or even third at a push.
Hopefully we can know our fate with a few games to spare so that it ends up being a relaxing end to the season rather than a stressful one, but if we finish in fourth I guess the emotions come with the results and we will take what we can as and when we can..
Although I am sure, had you asked Arsenal fans at the start of the season, well after the first few games especially, “would you take fourth place come the end of the season?” the majority for sure would have said yes as it would be an improvement on the previous seasons results.
And here’s hoping that fourth at least is what we get as we start to rebuild with a team that will be ready and raring to go and fight on all fronts for seasons to come!
Here’s hoping hey Gooners!
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
I always expect a top six finish this season
Chelsea play overcomplicated football like Wenger .Now they are trailing 1-3.
If Ma goes on allout attack,the gunners ard surely vulnerable to the sucker punch
I knew chelski will fumble today.
I reckon that’s probably fair gotanidea, I think most fans expected improvement from last season’s final position
The unexpected result Spurs got coming back away to Leicester as they did in the last game of last season meant they we only missed out on 7th place and a European spot by one point
I think we ended up only 6 points behind Chelsea in 4th
Given the very poor run we had after our first two League games until Boxing Day and Auba’s performances we did well to finish that high up
I think we all thought Auba couldn’t be that poor again this season and given that he was we have done well again to be in contention for 4th
I expected a return to European football at the beginning of the season based on the financial backing and faith shown in Arteta by owners.
4th and on the cusp of CL football is a silver lining and proof positive of progress under Arteta. Only a fool or hater can deny this evidence.
We MUST maintain qualification for Champions League and not fade as the season ends.
Congratulations to Arteta and his staff, and it is a compliment and testament to now be held to the same standard as his 2 predecessors.
4th is ours to lose, and based on Chelsea loss today, we are within an honest run for 3rd. That would be an incredible accomplishment, and no one (pundit or fan) penciled Arsenal for 3rd.
Siamois
Just a gentle reminder its six teams fighting for two spots.
Yes I would have happily taken 4th at the beginning of the season.
But honestly speaking my aim was to finish in the top six, but the gaffer had risen the bar and as a result lift the lid on expectations which has now gone through the roof.
Expectations has gone up to the point where I have been predicting a third spot for weeks now.
That would mean the gaffer is on the positive side of a solid 8
After the second 8th place nobody predicted top 4 in the summer. Nobody. After the 0-3 start only a handful of us predicted top 6. Most Arsenal fans wrote Arteta, the team and the season off. Not unsurprisingly most Arsenal fans are cautiously optimistic about top 4 this season but realise its not yet ours for the taking. Next season Man U will demand top 4, Spurs under Conte will be much tougher Chelsea may even fire Tuchel. The burden of European football looms as a big change for Arsenal next term. I think we could go deep into the CL in fact winning the Champions league is probably a lot easier than winning the league because there are only 13 games cf to 38 in the league. For me top 6 remains a decent target with top 4 being a bonus while the title is a once in ten year hope at best. I am sure Arteta like Conte will be at pains to rule out any chance of winning the league so as to keep expectations in check yet at the same time demanding huge spending just to keep up. Manging is quite the challenge 🙂
Absolutely … I hoped for top 6 … which is shameful but seemed realistic… so a top 4 would be arteta doing a lot better than I expected .. brentford and Leicester did us a favour but it seemed clear a month ago that top 4 was going to be a north London affair .. castle could do us a favour tomorrow but unlikely .. basically it’s in our hands .. and palace a very serious first test
Now for wolves to overtake us we need to lose at least 5 games n they win all their games which doesn’t seem possibility. For Manu to overtake they need to win all their games and we lose at least 3 games, it seems distant possibility. Now the real competition for top 4 is between Ars n Tottenham and that seems to go down the wire. They have more favourable matches than us so our game against spur seems to be 4th place decider. If we win that game than spur need to win all other game and we need to lose at least 3 games which seems unlikely. So let’s hope and cheer for ars vs Tottenham. That’s surely multimillion game.
They actually have an objectively harder run in once you account for our 3 point lead and game in hand. Chelsea/United are free hits for us even if we lose those Spurs have to outpoint us in the remaining game as well as beat Norwich no matter what. If you compare those remaining fixtures at that point theirs are harder which is why we were 1-2 (75% chance) with the bookies going into the weekend.
Thanks for the maths mate.
Monday game is paramount for the momentum.
Chelsea lost and United drew….now really no excuse to not make top 4.
Newcastle seems to have found their mojo, I see a draw tomorrow, the chickens ain’t winning this mate…
Calm down
Just to be different,
I think it could all come down to the Spurs game against Newcastle tomorrow.
If Spurs lose, I think we might be home and dry for at least the fourth spot.
Spurs will still be 3 points behind, and we will have two games in hand.
So we could afford to draw or even lose to both Chelsea and United and still be 3 points ahead.
BUT, we need to be Palace!
If Spurs lose, I might just celebrate with a Newkibrune (as they say in Glasgow)!!
I hoped for Top 4 before the season, but didn’t expect it. After the dismal start, I must admit, I nearly also lost the hope.
Either way, the combination of our achievements and the contours of a very talented team is beyond expectations already.
Ecstatic
I would have been very happy to finish fourth, back in August, but also content to finish in a Euro league place, unlike CERTAIN FANS on here.
Now we are sitting in 4th I would be dissapointed if we drop our guard and end up 5th or 6th.
I always thought we would make top 4 since back in October November
We have the belief we can make top 4. The next 10 we show us if we have the character to see it out.
Top 3 is still within our grasp
4th yes, would be excellent!
5th might be progress or not, considering we have no Europe or anymore cup games to play during the week.
If we score less than 60 goals this year, pointing out the last two games were won by miracle shots, the offense is not sorted in the least.
The two previous years we have 56 and 55 goals scored, that is not much improvement, with 48 and 41 goals scored against. We are on pace for 59.7 goals scored and 42 against.
For context, that would put us in the top 4 defenses in the league, but only in the top 7 offenses in the league by year in if worked out with current averages.
Not getting CL in a million years with a top 7 offense, and if we actually get 6th this year would you call time? I would because the offense is still not turning over 3 years in-period!
Arsenal have been going game by game and winning all their matches. But just a very few ones that they had lost or drew in the last 10 EPL matches which they’ve played. This gives hope to us the Arsenal faithful us Gooners will see the Gunners finish in the European places at season’s end.
No team does a favour to a sister or rival team in the EPL. For this reason I am not expecting to see the former Arsenal captain Patrick Viera managed Crystal Palace team do Arsenal a favour in the EPL match encounter between the duo club sides at Selhurst Park tomorrow. But rather, the Eagles could do a damage to the Gunners in the match if they give the chance for that to happen to them.
But I don’t think nor see Arsenal will give Crystal Palace any chance in the match to do a damage to the,m. On the contrary, because of the rein pf form in which Arsenal are currently are, and couple with the stake that is too high for them to not miss out on the European football next season, I see nothing else other than Arsenal beating Crystal Palace tomorrow night. More so, in the face of Chelsea surprise lost at home to Brentford yesterday which now looks to have thrown open the chance for Arsenal to finish 3rd this season.
Spurs just won 5-1 unfortunately
Arsenal to takeover top4 spot tomorrow.
Palace 1 vs 3 Arsenal
Lacazette, Martinelli to score
Palace have a history of upsetting our attempts to get a top 4 place .. emery gone but xhaka still there … we should beat them but it’s all about prep mentality and execution particularly after a long break and viera has proved he has what it takes to manage at this level .. the lack of goal scoring options may come back to haunt us as Spurs start to crank up victories
Forget all that was said before.
To all hard cores fan, the mind games has started again, Newcastle is the first casualty, you must turn up at Selhurst Park and support the gaffer and the boys tomorrow night.
Its criminal how Newcastle, went to the Spuds and try to play spuds like they are Man City and Arsenal,
Spuds only has two good players and that’s all they know , HOW TO COUNTER ATTACK.
Am wondering if and how this (MIRACLE) statement by Contte had any part on Eddie Howe mentality.
How can a team just barely escape relegation just started playing like this.
We wont be distracted by this mind game Conte is trying to engineer, we’ve been there before.
Big character like Partey must step up at Selhurst park and hold this game by the scuff,
Fresh from eliminating the most lethal striker from going to Qatar, Partey must come alive in what is turning out to be the most important game of the season
That’s a weak kneed response blaming Newcastle for the Spuds moving up the table. At this point Arsenal need to only be concerned about their own games. As expressed previously, top four is Arsenal’s to lose.
Spuds demolished Newcastle. Arsenal will have to be at their best in all remaining games and go out to win every game, treating each game as a Cup final. The Spuds are not going to rest and so arent we.