With second to fourth places separated by only two points and first being out of reach, Arsene Wenger is focused on maintaining that position.
Wenger has cautioned his side not to be complacent and take the eight-game winning streak for granted coming into Sunday’s clash with Chelsea: “We want to continue to win and strengthen our position in second place because that’s far from being done,” he said.
“We have an opportunity to get closer to Chelsea and we want to take it.” Alluding to Arsenal’s current form he continued, “We dropped points at the start of the season, but since January we have been top of the table.” He added, “We have an opportunity to show that improvement is consistent.”
Regarding Chelsea, he said, “They are the team that have lost less games than any other teams. The Premier League rewards the consistency and on that front, if you look at their record, they have been defensively very strong and very consistent.”
The second to fourth place race that Arsenal are currently leading are hotly contested right now and will continue until the end of the season. The Arsenal manager knows that dropping points at any time could have devastating results. He stated, “You take the example of Man City and that shows how fragile the position is. Nothing is forever in our game.”
Should Manchester City and Manchester United win their remaining five matches, it would leave them with 79 and 78 points, respectively. With six matches to go, Arsenal can finish in second with 80 points. At a minimum, they need to draw with Chelsea and Manchester United and win all other remaining matches (Hull City, Swansea City, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion) to be certain.
That said, Arsenal can feasibly drop to fourth this weekend, albeit temporarily, given the other teams’ remaining schedules, and Arsenal’s Sunderland match in hand. Fans should be reassured that Arsene Wenger knows there is no reason to settle for fourth or even third this year, and it will take continued focus and determination to finish the season strong.