Arsène Wenger has admitted his side’s stuttering recent form has left them casting anxious glances over their shoulders at the clubs closing in on the top four as Arsenal seek to revive their increasingly distant Premier League challenge at Everton.
The London club travel to Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime having won only once – against Hull City of the Championship – in their past eight games in all competitions, and only twice in nine league matches stretching back to mid-January. Should they succumb on Merseyside and West Ham and Manchester City win, Arsenal could – depending on goal difference – drop out of the top four this weekend for the first time since the end of September.
That would threaten Wenger’s pristine record of top-four finishes throughout his career at the club, with another pivotal trip to come at Upton Park next month. “We need to look over our shoulders because it’s very tight,” said the Arsenal manager. “I believe the Premier League [title race] is far from over. But we also have to look behind us because things can change very quickly. We want to move forward, but I’m conscious that our position is not secure, even where we are. Things will change between now and the end of the season, that’s for sure.
“West Ham are a threat. They’ve had very positive results at home, and went to Manchester United in the FA Cup and drew 1-1, so they are a threat. But we have to take care of our own destiny, and that’s by producing the performances we expect from ourselves. For us, it’s vital we rebuild some momentum. We have to give 100% to finish well in the Premier League and be in the fight until the end.”
Arsenal departed the Champions League in Barcelona on Wednesday, having exited the FA Cup last Sunday, defeats that have focused minds on the top-flight campaign. Everton represents a daunting start to their league run-in, for all that the manager has drawn positives from the midweek loss in Spain. “That performance was positive, even if the regret I have about the two games against Barcelona [is that] maybe they were more beatable than ever before,” he said. “When we played against them, they are not so much out of reach.
“But they can walk through the games before they play against us. They played on Saturday [against Getafe] with a team who, after 20 minutes, were 3-0 up. In their league they have problems to sell out in Barcelona because there is no championship any more. They can a little bit select how much they go for it. In the Premier League you cannot. But, I must say, on the other hand as well Messi is Messi. Neymar is Neymar. They play in Barcelona. Did we miss them? Yes. But we tried to get Messi, we couldn’t.
“We take the positives from our performance and focus again. I believe we still have a strong chance to reproduce the performances. It’s how much we want it now. That will decide our future. And we know the huge importance this game has for us. We know this game is of big significance for us, so we have to go out and perform. We want to continue to be in the fight, and behind us people move as well. We cannot stand still. I agree that a negative result would be very bad for us, but we focus on a positive result. We know now is the time for us to produce the result we want.”
Wenger, who suggested the club have made no contact with Zlatan Ibrahimovic over a possible summer free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain under the Bosman ruling, has lost Mathieu Flamini to a slight hamstring problem, though the Frenchman should return to contention, along with Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey, for the visit of Watford after the international window. Progress is slower with Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla.
“I think Cazorla is developing slowly,” added the Arsenal manager. “His knee is perfect, but he has a little achilles problem which is slowing him down. He would be available now if he had not had that problem. Wilshere is showing good signs now of recovery [from a fracture to his leg which required surgery in September], but I don’t think either will be back straight after the international break.”