A top four finish is just three points away for North London side Arsenal, and a win on Sunday will guarantee the Gunners a Champions League spot next season.
For the eighth consecutive season Arsenal will end the season without any silverware in their trophy cabinet. However, with their upcoming encounter against Newcastle United at Saint James’ Park on the horizon, Arsenal know that they must register a win in order to guarantee themselves a place in the qualification round for next season’s edition of the UEFA Champions League.
The Gunners have been an ever-present side alongside Manchester United in the Champions League for the past 17 years and should they miss out on the competition, it will seal the final disappointment in a season that has already been filled with a lot of disappointments for Arsenal fans.
This season, the Gunners were knocked out in the knockout stages of the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich. Similar setbacks occurred on their way towards achieving glory in the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup thus extending the long wait for breaking the trophy drought that has haunted the club for such a long time.
Moreover, for most part of the campaign, Arsenal were always chasing bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur who what it initially seemed, would storm their way to a top four finish. However, Gareth Bale’s injury and a drop in form saw Spurs struggle to build any consistency in their performances.
Due to this, an Arsenal side that was destined for a place in the Europa league, was back in the hunt for a place in the Champions League. Indeed, the Gunners did their chances no harm by putting together a string of good results that has helped the club gain a sure footing for a place in the Champions League.
Many factors have resulted in the change in fortunes of the side. One has to give Arsene Wenger a lot of credit for the way he has turned things around by changing a few things and replacing a few players who failed to attest their supremacy in the starting eleven.
Throughout the campaign, a lot of question marks have been posed on the credibility of Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian defender has been unable to replicate the performances that led to Wenger signing him from Ajax a few years back.The versatile defender has been unable to add any consistency to his displays and has been confined to the bench in recent times in favour of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.
It seems that Wojciech Szczesny will never be able to enjoy the confidence of either the club’s fans or his manager. Though the Pole has made quite a lot of brilliant saves this year, he has also been very inconsistent. After running out of patience, Wenger dropped him for a few games. It appears that being dropped has been a blessing in disguise for Szczesny who has been more stable at the back recently.
Dropping Lukas Podolski in favour of Olivier Giroud who was asked to spearhead the Gunners' attack was also a good decision that resulted in the team getting a lot of consistency. Following Giroud's dismissal in the match against Fulham, Wenger reinstated Podolski in the side to lead the attack and the German after failing to score in the first two games against United and QPR scored two crucial goals against Wigan keeping Arsenal's hopes alive of a top four finish.
On Sunday, Arsenal travel to Newcastle and know that a win over Alan Pardew’s men is very important for them not just for Champions League football, but also because qualification for the prestigious tournament will allow them to attract big names to the club.
In recent weeks, Gunners have been hotly linked with moves for the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Victor Valdes . However, if they are unable to seal a place in Champions League and should Tottenham pip them in fourth place, the club will not be able to attract players of their calibre next season.
The Gunners have been an ever-present side alongside Manchester United in the Champions League for the past 17 years and should they miss out on the competition, it will seal the final disappointment in a season that has already been filled with a lot of disappointments for Arsenal fans.
This season, the Gunners were knocked out in the knockout stages of the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich. Similar setbacks occurred on their way towards achieving glory in the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup thus extending the long wait for breaking the trophy drought that has haunted the club for such a long time.
Moreover, for most part of the campaign, Arsenal were always chasing bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur who what it initially seemed, would storm their way to a top four finish. However, Gareth Bale’s injury and a drop in form saw Spurs struggle to build any consistency in their performances.
Due to this, an Arsenal side that was destined for a place in the Europa league, was back in the hunt for a place in the Champions League. Indeed, the Gunners did their chances no harm by putting together a string of good results that has helped the club gain a sure footing for a place in the Champions League.
Many factors have resulted in the change in fortunes of the side. One has to give Arsene Wenger a lot of credit for the way he has turned things around by changing a few things and replacing a few players who failed to attest their supremacy in the starting eleven.
Throughout the campaign, a lot of question marks have been posed on the credibility of Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian defender has been unable to replicate the performances that led to Wenger signing him from Ajax a few years back.The versatile defender has been unable to add any consistency to his displays and has been confined to the bench in recent times in favour of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.
It seems that Wojciech Szczesny will never be able to enjoy the confidence of either the club’s fans or his manager. Though the Pole has made quite a lot of brilliant saves this year, he has also been very inconsistent. After running out of patience, Wenger dropped him for a few games. It appears that being dropped has been a blessing in disguise for Szczesny who has been more stable at the back recently.
Dropping Lukas Podolski in favour of Olivier Giroud who was asked to spearhead the Gunners' attack was also a good decision that resulted in the team getting a lot of consistency. Following Giroud's dismissal in the match against Fulham, Wenger reinstated Podolski in the side to lead the attack and the German after failing to score in the first two games against United and QPR scored two crucial goals against Wigan keeping Arsenal's hopes alive of a top four finish.
On Sunday, Arsenal travel to Newcastle and know that a win over Alan Pardew’s men is very important for them not just for Champions League football, but also because qualification for the prestigious tournament will allow them to attract big names to the club.
In recent weeks, Gunners have been hotly linked with moves for the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Victor Valdes . However, if they are unable to seal a place in Champions League and should Tottenham pip them in fourth place, the club will not be able to attract players of their calibre next season.
