I have been saying it for weeks now. Arsenal are in danger of not only slipping out of the title race but out of the Champions League places also. And Arsene Wenger agrees.
In recent years Wenger has celebrated Arsenal’s 20th consecutive top-four finish like winning a trophy. But when you have finished fourth in 6 of the last 10 seasons, that is becoming a harder sell to make.
This weekend Arsenal travel to Everton on Saturday for a crucial Premier League game, just three days after losing to Barcelona in the Champions League.
While Wenger is refusing to give up on the Premier League title, but also warned that teams like Manchester United and West Ham could also still overtake the Gunners in the top four.
“It’s very tight, but I believe that first of all the Premier League is far from over. But we have as well to look behind us, because things can change very quickly,” he said. “We want of course to move forward, but I’m conscious that our position even where we are now is not secure.”
Arsenal have just one win in their last eight games, and a loss at Everton combined with wins by West Ham and Manchester City, would see the Gunners fall out of the Champions League places.
With two weeks until their next match, due to the international break, the pressure of Wenger will be huge if they don’t win. But Wenger doesn’t even want to contemplate such a scenario.
“If and if and if and if. In the press you are always in the situation where you have to predict the worst. We are in a position where we have to hope for the best,” he said. “I agree that a negative result would be very bad for us. But we focus now on having a positive result. Now is the time for us to produce the result we want.”