Robbie Savage reckons that Arsenal will finish fifth again this season, even with the addition of Alexandre Lacazette.

Savage isn’t known for his love of Arsenal so his prediction for where they’ll finish in the Premier League 2017/18 season hardly comes as a shock.

The former Derby player reckons that the Gunners will once again finish fifth and miss out on Champions League football for a second season in a row, despite Lacazette adding some ‘fire power’ to the attacking line-up.

Savage believes that Arsenal will struggle if they don’t keep Alexis Sanchez, which most people agree with.

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ST ALBANS, ENGLAND – AUGUST 01: Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney on August 1, 2017 in St Albans, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

However, the pundit has based his entire prediction on Arsene Wenger losing the Chilean. What if he stays, as the boss has repeatedly insisted he will? Surely you can’t base an entire season’s prediction on one factor which may or may not happen?

What’s more, Savage claims to be confused over how Alexis has been allowed to enter into the final year of his contract at Arsenal. He insinuates that, until now, Wenger has done absolutely nothing to try and keep the Chilean at the club, which, again, he knows nothing about.

“How on earth was such an influential player allowed to reach the final year of his contract without the club busting a gut to keep him?” Savage said in his piece for the Mirror.

“Le Professeur rode out the storm last season but I suspect he is facing another year outside the mainstream.”

How do we know that Arsenal haven’t offered him an extension before but he’s refused? We don’t.

Savage also predicts Chelsea to finish third, after winning the title last season, Liverpool to finish fourth, Manchester City to come second and United to win it, despite coming sixth last term.

Pundit’s predictions are very rarely completely on the money so it’ll be interesting to come back to these come May 2018…