Why Wenger’s fourth-place ‘trophy’ is no longer a joke

WHEN Arsene Wenger claimed ‘the first trophy is to finish in the top four’ there was much sniggering and ridicule but at this time of year there are always converts to his way of thinking. You might even find some at Chelsea, on the rebound from a six-goal humiliation at Manchester City last month and desperately trying to avoid a third season out of four outside the Champions League. ‘The game when we lost 6-0, I think we had a click and said we need to do it together, there are three or four months to play and we want to finish in the top four,’ said Eden Hazard. The Belgian salvaged a point for Chelsea with a late equaliser against Wolves on Sunday and, although it felt like a missed opportunity, it served to tighten the race for the two Champions League places behind title challengers Manchester City and Liverpool. Chelsea are the only one of the four in Premier League action next weekend, and a victory at Everton would see them draw level with Arsenal. Then it will come down to an eight-game sprint. Tottenham will start with a points advantage and the benefit of having five of their last eight games at home, even though they must travel to both Liverpool and City. The great imponderable for Mauricio Pochettino is how his players will react to the switch to their new stadium next month. Home form in the final season at White Hart Lane was phenomenal but the new place will bear little resemblance and they encountered early problems at Wembley. Spurs have hit terrible form with only one point out of the last 12. Manchester United have taken seven from their last four games, which is identical to Chelsea. Arsenal, on the outside of the Champions League for two years, eased up into fourth with 10 points from 12 when they beat United on Sunday, and have a friendly run-in. Five of their last eight fixtures are away from home, however, and Unai Emery’s team have been inconsistent on the road. Points will be dropped in unexpected places while Chelsea and United will look towards their clash in April as a significant date. Only United survive in the FA Cup and, though Arsenal are 3-1 down after the first leg of their Europa League tie with Rennes, all four remain in European competition, which offers an alternative ticket into the Champions League. Twists are guaranteed but the value of being among the elite is greater than ever. Real Madrid banked around £80million for winning the Champions League last season, nearly four times what Atletico Madrid earned for lifting the Europa League. All this, without accounting for the natural impact on summer recruitment, keeping players and managers and on the global status and marketability. Wenger’s observations from 2012 have never rung more true.