Why Gooners may pray for last-day failure
If it means Wenger leaving, many Arsenal fans will be hoping they miss out on Champions League
IF you are an Arsenal fan, and you want Arsene Wenger to leave the club, then what do you want to be the outcome of the final day of the season today? Would you take Liverpool blowing it against Middlesbrough at Anfield, Arsenal beating Everton, finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League so Wenger stays?
Or would you prefer to see Liverpool claim fourth, Arsenal finish behind them in fifth and Wenger leave the club?
And then there is always the dreaded third option — that Arsenal finish fifth and Wenger stays anyway.
Every supporter should want what is best for their team, and every Arsenal supporter should be happy if they qualify for the Champions League, even if they have been in it for the last 17 seasons running.
But it shows the level of disatisfaction with Wenger and how much it has grown among Arsenal supporters, that many will be uncertain which outcome they prefer.
If Arsenal do fail to qualify for the Champions League today, Alexis Sanchez looks certain to leave the club in the summer. He needs Champions League football and with only one year left on his contract, Arsenal have to cash in now.
He has scored 23 league goals for Arsenal this season, so you cannot argue with his contribution. And when they have really needed him in recent weeks, with fourth place still in reach and so many tricky games, Sanchez has stepped up and delivered.
But he has not looked happy with things at Arsenal and I don’t like the childish way in which he sometimes conducts himself and the level of contempt he can show to his team-mates. I can’t see him staying if they finish fifth.
Fourth place is in Liverpool’s hands today but how many times have they lost these games at Anfield this season? And when the pressure is on, can Jurgen Klopp’s side deliver against a poor Middlesbrough team who have won just one game in ten?
The big problem is that Liverpool do not change the way they play. They constantly make these short passes, trying to press and probe, but Divock Origi is not good enough in tight positions so it doesn’t help playing him through the middle.
When Daniel Sturridge plays, they get goals, as he showed the other night at West Ham. His goal came from Philippe Coutinho’s excellent pass, but Sturridge’s run behind the defenders was so clever, and the finish was purely instinctive and lethal.
There is a clear issue between Klopp and Sturridge and his fitness but the Liverpool manager will have to spend a lot of money to replace him, and they will need to be able to bring in someone special because he is a very talented player who makes Liverpool a better team with his goals and movement.
There are a number of positions Klopp needs to improve. They have, like all those teams, the quality creative players in the side to make chances for excellent goalscorers. But, unlike, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and even Manchester United, Liverpool don’t have a dominant, goalscoring centre forward that they can rely on.
Liverpool were second in the league at the turn of the year and many of us thought this could be the year they finally pushed on and won the Premier League but their challenge has faltered because of their inability to break sides down.
There are also some defensive frailties there. Klopp doesn’t seem to trust his goalkeepers, they are poor at set pieces and concede too many goals, and there are issues at centre back.
If Manchester United had won five more games at Old Trafford the season, they would be in the Champions League next season without having to worry about winning the Europa League on Wednesday night.
José Mourinho’s team have only lost five at home this season, but they have drawn 15. That is far too many. They have also only scored 52 goals, which is less than Bournemouth and Everton.
When you see the unbelievable wages they are paying Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with his goal bonuses on top, it is no wonder he is top scorer. I am sure it is in his mind whenever he is in front of goal.
United have looked excellent at times this season but they have not been able to get enough goals and wins when they’ve dominated and Mourinho is clearly not happy with this team.
But they are in a vicious cycle. Every season since Alex Ferguson has left, the United squad has needed an overhaul. But they have spent a lot of money in that time on a lot of players who have not performed, or been picked.
Whether they land Champions League football or not, there’s plenty for these clubs to think about for next season.