Wenger faces up to familiar scramble as manager sends warning to Chelsea
Why has it even come to this? Here we are again, at the fag end of a season, wondering whether Arsenal will scramble into the top four in the Premier League, and it all feels like one big tease.
Their traditional gallop to the finishing line appears likely to end without Arsène Wenger securing a Champions League place but Arsenal should not be relying on a Liverpool blow-up when they perform like they did on Saturday.
Where were the likes of Mesut Özil a few weeks ago in the defeats at Crystal Palace or West Bromwich Albion? Whatever happens on Sunday, Arsenal’s campaign should still be considered one of underachievement.
Liverpool’s canter at West Ham United yesterday has surely killed off Arsenal hopes, even if they can beat Sunderland tomorrow night, yet the final day promises to be more tense than Wenger envisaged when he walked away from White Hart Lane after that insipid 2-0 defeat last month.
It should never have got to a potentially nailbiting stage e and it is no wonder Arsenal’s supporters orters are torn, almost at civil war, over the future of their manager. r.
In a corridor of the Bet365 et365 Stadium on Saturday evening,ning, Wenger did not appear to be a man preparing for a fare- well party. “I would say the players have responded after a difficult period. We could have gone divided but we have chosen to be united and that’s what you see on the he pitch,” he said.
“We have two home games mes now and after that it just shows that every season is dif- ferent and we can still mathematically make 757 points. That will be a decent total.”total
There w was even a warning for Antonio Conte, after Chelsea clinched the title at the Hawthorns on Friday night. “I congratulateco Chelsea on whatwha they’ve done but you seese as well when they playp in Europe it’ll be a different story. They’ve done well but in the last two seasons the team that won the leagueleag hasn’t played in Europe.
“It will be a different season because they will have to play on Saturday-wednesday-saturday,” he added, “but, look, I don’t know what will happen next season.”
Arsenal’s win here was their fifth in six league games and this was Wenger’s vision in high definition, another reminder that English football will be poorer without Özil and Alexis Sánchez.
Arsenal usually dread trips to the Potteries but they were never in danger here, with two goals from Olivier Giroud and classy strikes from Özil and Sánchez a reward for their superiority. Peter Crouch’s consolation – a “hand goal”, insisted Wenger – was the only blemish on a satisfactory day for their back three.
Rob Holding, the former Bolton Wanderers defender, is one player flourishing in the new formation. “The fans were chanting my name, which is a bit surreal, really. I’ve never experienced that before,” he said.
“We are traditionally strong finishers and there’s a feeling we can do it. The confidence has been there the last few games, so we’ve just got to keep the momentum going.”
Stoke’s ‘lap of honour’ after the final whistle had a funereal atmosphere and Mark Hughes is under growing scrutiny from supporters.
Hughes will finish outside the top 10 for the first time since his appointment in 2013 and, while his
position is not under immediate threat, he must get his recruitment right over the summer.
Stoke also failed to beat a top-six team this season, while they have conceded four goals seven times.
“We need to look at the squad and make key decisions, make sure we’re stronger going into next year,” said the Stoke manager.
“Clearly, we will have opportunities to go in the market and improve ourselves which we need to do because everybody else will be doing the same thing.
“This year has been a disappointment in terms of what we’ve been able to produce but, the last three years, we’ve surpassed everybody’s expectations.”