Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick says the club have an outside chance of a top four finish in the Premier League, but admits this has not been an easy campaign.

Arsenal released their financial results to the 30th November 2017 on Wednesday, and Sir Chips prefaced the figures with a statement summing up the current situation. In the statement he stressed that the team still have plenty to play for, despite Sunday’s cup final defeat.

“This has been an inconsistent season,” Keswick admitted. “But as we enter its final stages let’s not forget we still have plenty to play for with the UEFA Europa League and an outside chance of a top four finish in the Premier League.

“This has not been the easiest of campaigns but we are all working hard to ensure we have a strong finish. We still have much to aim for including a path back to the Champions League. Let’s give the team our full support and make a difference over the next few months.”

To call this campaign ‘inconsistent’ is a bit of an understatement. By comparison to any of the last 20 seasons, this one has been a bit of a nightmare.

On Sunday, Arsenal lost their 12th match in all competitions, which means they’ve now failed to win 20 out of their 43 games. That doesn’t sound terrible, but it’s as many games as the team lost and drew in the whole of last season.

Given Wenger’s side were only playing in the Europa League this campaign, you’d expect them to improve on what was already a disappointing year in 2016/17. Instead they’ve gone backwards.

As for the outside chance of a top four finish, Thursday’s match against Manchester City could put that to bed. If Arsenal lose they’ll be 10 points off the top four with 10 games to go. You’d have to be a very optimistic fan to back the team to claw that gap back.

Let’s hope they get the win, to at least make the task a little less impossible.