As many five teams are currently fighting it out for a place in the top four of the Premier League but there’s no denying that Arsenal are the favourites to land that final UCL spot.
Manchester United are the fourth team on the table right now but the Gunners are just four points behind them and they still have three games in hand. Arsenal might be sixth with teams like Wolves and Spurs visible in their rearview mirror but if they can win their games in hand they will very easily move into the top-four.
Mikel Arteta though is not ready to start preparing for a victory parade just yet and the Spaniard has made it clear that it’s going to be a long and hard battle towards the finish line.
The manager told the press: “I think it will be a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said. “There will be moments when a team opens up a bit of a gap, then it catches up. You see the fixtures we all have to play and they are extremely tricky. We will see.
“There is going that pressure because mathematically, it is possible but our focus has to be today. Train well today, prepare well today, be mentally ready, physically ready, tactically ready tomorrow to play a really difficult match and show it on the pitch. That should be the only aim.
Will Arsenal finish in the top four? 🤔
Mikel Arteta says the ride to get there will be like a 'rollercoaster' 🎢
The Gunners boss has been fielding questions on his side's chances ahead of their Premier League clash against Wolves on Thursday.
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“I think [the players] know. They know what every game means for us, we know where we are and that race is going to right until the end.
“There are a lot of clubs involved, you see very different results that you don’t expect and we play at home [against Wolves on Thursday night], the importance of getting the points when we play at home is going to be crucial to get to the destination.”
Which team is the favourite to finish in the Premier League top-four?
Arsenal, without a doubt, are in the driver’s seat but the North London side have a tendency to implode at important times and there’s every chance they could see a sudden decline in the coming matchweeks.
They have sold several players in January but did not even make a single signing and this flawed transfer business could very well come back to bite them towards the end of the season.
Manchester United with a strong finish to stay top four in the Premier League 😤 pic.twitter.com/4raTZ9Nb0h
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With no other competition to focus on, Arsenal can very efficiently focus on the PL but they still have some really tough games in their hand, from now until the end of the season.
The Gunners have to face teams like Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester United and we are more than certain they will drop points in some of these matches.
Teams like Man United and West Ham are currently fourth and fifth respectively but they have played more games than Spurs and Arsenal so the pressure is also on them to not slip up.
Spurs have winds in their sails after beating Manchester City and even Wolves have just lost once in their previous five Premier League games.
As Arteta said, there’s no way the top-four race is over and there’s every chance this could trickle down to the final matchday as well. But having said that, this is Arsenal’s to lose now.
If Arsenal win their games in hand then they will not only move above the other contenders but they will be only two points behind third-placed Chelsea.
