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What are the odds of Arsenal finishing in the top four?

By on March 11, 2020

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It’s been a disappointing season at Arsenal but can Mikel Arteta’s men still salvage something from the campaign by qualifying for the Champions League? We take a look….

The Gunners went into the 2019/20 season expecting to challenge at the top end of the table following what was widely regarded as a successful summer which saw Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos, Kieran Tierney and David Luiz all arrive at the Emirates Stadium.

However, it’s turned out to be a nightmare and Arteta was brought-in as Unai Emery’s replacement in December with the north Londoners languishing in mid-table following a disastrous first half to the campaign.

There have been signs of improvement under Arteta and Arsenal booked a date with Sheffield United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after beating Portsmouth 2-0 at Fratton Park last week.

But the Gunners were dumped out of the Europa League at the hands of Olympiacos and results in the league haven’t really improved with Arsenal still sitting ninth in the table having won just nine of their 28 games so far.

However, it’s not just Arsenal who’re struggling this season as Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham have also endured inconsistent campaigns that has left the race for fourth place wide open.

Arsenal have a game in hand on their rivals but it’s away to Man City so they’ll do well to get a point from that match. Assuming they’re still on 40 points from 29 played, the Gunners would be eight points adrift of Chelsea with nine games remaining.

Outside chance

Given the state of play, it’s no surprise that Arsenal are being tipped to miss out on the top four. The experts behind thebest-casinos believe Chelsea will hold on to fourth place and the bookmakers agree as the Blues are 8/11 favourites to take fourth spot.

Arsenal on the other hand are 18/1 outsiders – behind Sheffield United [12/1], Wolves [8/1] and Man Utd [3/2] – so Arteta faces a huge task to get his side back in the mix for Champions League qualification.

However, there could yet be a glimmer of hope as Manchester City are currently banned from playing in European competition next season. The Citizens have appealed the decision but the result may not be finalised before the start of next season so City could realistically find themselves expelled from the Champions League.

City are almost guaranteed to finish in the top four so their qualification place would go to the team who finished fifth. Man Utd currently occupy that spot but Arsenal are just five points behind with a game in hand so Arteta will be desperate to close that gap over the coming weeks.

Arsenal have a decent run of games coming up against Brighton, Sheffield United, Norwich and Wolves. They need to target at least 9-10 points from those four games to have a chance of snatching fifth or fourth this season, so Arsenal’s campaign will rest on their form over the next few weeks.

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