With their midweek win over Southampton, Arsenal have given their supporters a glimmer of hope that they can still finish in the top four this season and add another FA cup to their collection. Bearing in mind where they were a month or two ago it was all doom and gloom at Emirates, it seems Arsene Wenger has steered the ship back on course and maybe we may just see him signing another two year extention(to the delight of 19 other Premier League clubs).
One thing Arsene deserves credit on was having the bravery to implement a three at the back system which he was not accustomed to.He stated he believed it would give them more defensive stability as they were leaking too many goals. Since that defensive change at the back they have only lost once in the six games which was the humbling defeat to Tottenham. During this time although they have conceded four goals they have only let in more than one goal once during these last half a dozen games. In contrast, the last four away games they played before the switch to three at the back they conceded three goals each time. That provides evidence for me that they are improving defensively and still have enough attacking wise to still win games. Some may even call it a master stroke from the 69 year old Frenchman others would put it down to luck but rest assured statistically they have improved defensively over last month or so which has given them the chance to sneak into the top four.
In addition to this, the inconsistencies in the teams above them has given Arsenal a great chance of qualifying for next years Champions League. Both Manchester clubs and Liverpool have all dropped points recently against teams you would not expect them to and Arsenal have slowly been churning up results getting closer to that top four. So much so that they are now only four points off Liverpool in third with a game in hand and three behind City. The top four race is well and truly still alive and with Liverpool away at West Ham where Tottenham recently were turned over, it will not be a foregone conclusion that Liverpool will be taking maximum points away from the London Stadium which will give Arsenal optimism. They also have a tough away fixture against Stoke where it has historically never been easy for them, however with momentum from their last two results I can see getting the right result by hook or by crook.
Generally if you go back in the last ten years, Arsenal have always finished the season strongly in terms of getting themselves into the top four. Going all the way back to lasagne-gate with Tottenham to dramatic winning runs to pip teams like Everton and Newcastle respectively to a top four finish. Understandably this year will be harder with the calibre of teams that are above them for Arsenal to get top four but they will feel confident going into the last couple weeks of the season. They have shown ample times in the past when the pressure is off they can really flourish and put together runs. Would I be suprised if Arsenal made it into the top four this year and won a trophy?My answer to that question is no, so write Arsene and Arsenal off at your own peril.
Written by Adrian Addai
anthonyscouts.co.uk 