Good day my fellow Gooners. Wednesday is July 1st, the first day of an extremely busy month for the Gunners. 8 games in 31 days is a lot to ask of any squad, especially as they approach the end to a very long and difficult campaign.
So, where does Arsenal’s European chances stand going into Wednesday’s game v Norwich City?
The Gunners need to finish in the top 5 to earn a trip to the Champions League, or a top 6 finish to qualify for the Europa League groups stages. Bringing home the FA Cup title would also automatically put Arsenal into the Europa League competition. Either is a tough assignment that will require the Gunners to play their best football of the season in order to achieve either goal.
Here’s what I mean.
First, let’s look at how we played earlier in the season against the PL clubs remaining on our league schedule…
Norwich City – 2-2 draw
Wolves – 1-1 draw
Leicester City – 0-2 defeat
Tottenham Hotspur – 2-2 draw
Liverpool – 1-3 defeat
Aston Villa – 2-2 win
Watford – 2-2 draw
Combined: 1 win, 4 draws and 2 defeats
Arsenal collected only 5 of 21 points from these 7 matches.
We’ll need a lot more than 5 points in our last 7 Premier League matches to earn a European spot by taking this path.
Now, let’s look at our FA Cup competition, and how we played against the remaining 3 FA Cup teams earlier this season…
Semifinal – Manchester City – 0 wins, 0 draws, 2 defeats.
Final – Chelsea or Manchester United – 1 win, 2 draws, and 1 defeat combined.
Bottom line, if we can get by Man City in the FA Cup semifinal, I like our chances to win the FA Cup, however, the road to Europe through the Premier League might be asking too much at this stage of the competition. With that said, teams can get hot and put a string of wins together. Mikel Arteta and his club are on a 2-game winning run right now, so let’s hope the boss can keep the fire lit through July and get the Gunners into Europe competition next season!
Cheers, stay healthy and safe!
Gunner1953
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