Arsenal were on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat against title chargers Liverpool on Wednesday, but this changes nothing for their top four prospects.
While Liverpool have now set up a straight shoot out run up with Manchester City to the title where neither side can afford to slip up, Arsenal’s own objective of a top four finish remains in an incredibly strong position.
There will inevitably be those among the football community and club fandoms who will respond to the defeat in a reactionary manner and believe they have squandered their top four advantage away.
However, such a take seems baseless considering The Gunners still remain fourth, still have two games in hand on the two teams directly below them – Manchester United and West Ham – and are not under pressure from other competitions like some of the club’s below them are.
They also still have a one game advantage over Tottenham Hotspur, who can go up to fifth if they win their own game in hand. Wolves also face the same mountain to climb as Man United and West Ham but have a larger point gap to overcome.
Considering both Man United and Spurs still need to face Liverpool, Arsenal can take comfort in the likely event of Jurgen Klopp’s side taking points away from their top four rivals.
Arsenal should have no fears with regards to their top four challenge, and while it would have arguably been an overachievement at the start of the season, considering the strong position they are now in under Mikel Arteta’s tutelage anything except a top four finish now would be a colossal bottle job.