Arsenal will miss out on Premier League top four.. and here are five reasons why
Gunners' best players want out, they are defensively weak and others are just plain better
DEFEAT to Bournemouth left Arsenal further adrift in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
The Gunners are languishing in sixth and are eight points outside the Champions League qualification places.
Faced with the prospect of losing Alexis Sanchez to a rival and too often producing sub-par, uninspiring performances unbefitting of title contenders, these are difficult times for Arsenal fans.
After finishing fifth last season and failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades, our friends at Football Whispers have picked out five reasons why the Gunners are destined to miss out on the top four once again this term.
Uncertainty surrounding best players
He almost left in the summer before Arsenal pulled the plug on a move to Manchester City having been unable to find a deadline day replacement, but Sanchez now seems certain to depart the Emirates this month.
The only question remaining is over which of the Gunners’ big-six rivals, City or neighbours Manchester United, the Chilean will join.
Speculation over the 29-year-old’s future has been rife all season, likewise Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere, all of whom will be out of contract at the end of the season as things stand.
Such uncertainty is hardly a recipe for harmony.
Replacements will take time to bed in
With Sanchez on his way out, Arsene Wenger has reportedly identified Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Malcom as a replacement for the former Barcelona star, with a move Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, recently the subject of Chelsea transfer rumours, also said to be under consideration.
At 20, Malcom has bags of potential and is among Europe’s most highly rated young attackers, while there are no doubts over 28-year-old Aubameyang’s status as one of the continent’s most lethal strikers.
But any new arrivals will take time to adjust to life at the Emirates and the rigours of the Premier League. Should either man join the Gunners this month, their best form might not be seen before next season.
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Europa League now a priority
Having been cut adrift in the top four race, Arsenal would be wise to throw all of their eggs into the Europa League basket, just as Manchester United did last term.
Jose Mourinho elected to sacrifice United’s league form in favour of chasing Champions League qualification via Europe’s secondary club competition, and thus limped to a sixth-place finish domestically.
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The Gunners are set to face Swedish upstarts Ostersunds in the round of 32 next month, a fixture the north Londoners are big favourites to breeze through.
With the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Napoli having dropped into the competition from the Champions League, Arsenal face tough challenges ahead, but they will fancy their chances.
Defensively weak
Recent displays have betrayed a real weakness in the way Wenger’s side defend, costing them their place in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest this month and contributing heavily to the defeat to Bournemouth.
Poor positioning, an inability to win one-v-one battles and a desperate lack of leadership have caused Arsenal to look shambolic of late.
They must make drastic improvements in this area if they are to claw their way back towards the top four.
Teams above them are simply better
City are the runaway leaders at the top of the Premier League, despite suffering their first loss of the season to Liverpool on Sunday, and no side is likely to catch Pep Guardiola’s men.
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But even the chasing pack appear stronger than Arsenal.
For the Gunners to be in with a chance of making it back into the Champions League qualification places, they are reliant on at least two of United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs suffering critical dips in form. Something which seems unlikely at this stage.