Breathing down Chelsea and Man City's necks - how the Premier League table looks since Mikel Arteta took charge of Arsenal
With four games to go, Arsenal are nine points off fourth. Even the most optimistic Gooner would admit Champions League qualification is a long shot at this stage.
Regardless of whether Man City’s ban from playing Europe football is upheld and finishing fifth is enough to qualify, Arsenal are still five points away from that target and have played one more game than Manchester United,
So if the inevitable happens and Arsenal don’t make it that’ll be the fourth straight season they’ve failed to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Nevertheless, there’s a reason for Arsenal fans to be positive as they’re showing clear signs of progress under manager Mikel Arteta.
Before the season restarted, they were the only club to boast an unbeaten record in the Premier League in 2020.
They had a slight hiccup when football came back, losing against Manchester City and Brighton but have recovered strongly since.
Wins against Southampton, Norwich and Wolves and sealing their place in the FA Cup semi-finals has reinvigorated their season and they almost got the better of Leicester in the league on Tuesday night.
Arteta seems to be establishing control over the squad by taking firm stands against players who find themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
And this stat shows Arsenal are very much on the right track under the Spaniard.
He was appointed just before Christmas, overseeing Arsenal’s goalless draw at Everton on December 21 before officially taking charge when the Gunners drew at Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Arteta has led Arsenal for 16 Premier League matches and the form table reveals they would be just a point off Manchester City and Chelsea, who are third and fourth respectively.