Wenger stalks fourth spot
Only luck will see Gunners pip Reds
London – Arsene Wenger’s record of delivering Champions League football every year since 1998 hangs by a thread as Arsenal prepare for Sunday’s final game of the season against Everton.
The last time Arsenal’s place in Europe’s elite championship rested on the final league match was in 2006, when Tottenham Hotspur needed only to match Arsenal’s result to snap the sequence. Spurs lost to West Ham United and Wenger’s run remained intact.
This year Arsenal must again rely on an upset to finish in the top four. They lie fifth on the log, one point behind Liverpool who hold the last Champions League spot, while thirdplaced Manchester City have a three-point advantage.
Liverpool face already-relegated Middlesbrough and Manchester City travel to 16th placed Watford.
Wenger’s future at the club is uncertain and if Arsenal finish outside the top four the “Thanks Arsene but Time to Go” brigade will be in full cry.
Sixth placed Manchester United, who under Alex Ferguson viewed Champions League participation as automatic, go into a must-win Europa League final against Ajax next week to return to European soccer in Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge.
Fixtures (all 4pm)
Watford v Man City; Burnley v West Ham; Leicester v Bournemouth; Man United v Crystal Palace; Liverpool v Middlesbrough; Chelsea v Sunderland; Arsenal v Everton; Southampton v Stoke; Swansea v West Brom; Hull v Tottenham. Reuters