Arsenal are still in third place where they have resided for much of this campaign. Until this week they were relatively free of any threat from beneath them in the table, and have been applying their focus on the build-up for next season.
But with the Gunner’s surprising 2-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers last weekend, and Tottenham’s midweek win over Manchester City, Arsenal now find themselves just two points in front of Spurs.
An Arsenal loss to Fulham on Sunday combined with a Tottenham win over Burnley would see Spurs leap into third place in the Premier League, and that would mean an automatic entry into the Champions League Group Stage.
Poor end of season for Arsenal
Arsenal had their proverbial nose rubbed in their own dismal end-of-season run by Blackburn Rovers on Monday, who came from behind to beat the Gunners 2-1 at Ewood Park.
Gunner’s manager Arsene Wenger bemoaned Blackburn’s tactics of crowding Arsenal’s polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski, and further claimed that referee Martin Atkinson should have done more to protect the apparently delicate Fabianski.
Wenger and Arsenal may be better served were they to be more inward-looking when laying blame. Winless in five, their last victory a narrow 1-0 win against Wolves over a month ago, the defeat to Blackburn was just the latest in a poor run of form for the Gunners.
Injuries blight Arsenal’s season
Granted, injuries have burdened the team all season. Robin van Persie, for example, has only recently returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him late last year. Midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas suffered a leg fracture in Champions League play and is out for the season, as are William Gallas and Aaron Ramsay. Other injuries have come and gone too.
Still, this is Arsenal, and they should be expected to rise above such misfortune. But whether or not injuries are to blame for their poor form, five consecutive games winless means Arsenal must now avoid losing to Fulham on the final day of the season if they are to be assured of third place.
Fantastic Season for the Cottagers
The Cottagers may now be sitting 12th in the league but they’re nearing the end of a remarkable season. Next week they’ll travel to Hamburg to play Atletico Madrid in the Europa League Final, the loftiest height they’ve ever attained.
On Sunday, however, they have the chance to spike Arsenal’s guns. A Fulham win over the Gunners could see Arsenal finish fourth instead of their expected third. This is big, because Arsenal would then have to qualify for the Champions League Group Stages next season, just as they had to this season.
Hodgson opts for a different tactic?
With nothing to win other than elevation of a position or two in the league table, manager Roy
Hodgson could field a weakened squad against Arsenal and save his main men for the Europa League final.
It’s a strategy he employed against Hull, just days before his team were to face Wolfsburg in the Europa League.
The league frowns on tactics like this. Wolves’ Mick McCarthy employed it against Manchester United earlier in the season, much to the ire of the authorities and to the disgust of Wolves’ fans. It seemed to work though. A much rejuvenated Wolves squad beat Burnley the following game.
To his credit Hodgson asked the league to move their match with Arsenal from Sunday to Saturday to allow additional preparation time. The league has refused. Hodgson therefore has no options. Certainly Tottenham won’t be happy if Fulham opt to take their Europa League final more seriously than their league match against Arsenal, but nobody in the Arsenal camp is likely to complain.
