Arsenal would have taken this at the start of the season. Yet, Mikel Arteta finds himself in crisis-management mode again, desperately trying to avoid the disappointment of missing out on Champions League football.
The fact the Spaniard even put his team in the driving seat for fourth place up until a week ago was a remarkable achievement. But back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton have left dark clouds hanging over the Emirates again and sparked fears that this is yet another false dawn.
It prompted Arteta to question the courage of his players and admit the team deserved to get “slapped” following the 2-1 defeat on Saturday.
To put it into context, Arsenal can still move level on points with Tottenham if they win their game in hand on their north London rivals.
Compared with what has passed for a crisis around these parts in recent years, it is hardly time to press the panic button.
Fifth place would have felt like an impossible dream after three straight Premier League defeats at the start of the season — and after 12 minutes at the Etihad in August, when they were 2-0 down to Manchester City in a game that felt like the score could be anything.
The problem is, Arteta’s side have arguably over-achieved — or at least looked capable of capitalising on the issues suffered by Manchester United and Tottenham to take fourth. With games in hand on both of those clubs, it was there for the taking.
Even after defeat to Palace last week, it was still in Arsenal’s hands. But, after the loss to Brighton, it is almost impossible to shake the sense that the wheels have come off.
Arsenal were abject, with Arteta claiming they are on a road to “nowhere.” Their manager’s failure to put up an explanation for such an insipid display is a major concern. This felt like an attempt at shock treatment to kick their season back into a life. He did not hold back, offering a brutally honest takedown of his players.
It is a risky manoeuvre to call out the team in public. Get it wrong and trust can be lost. And what if Arsenal now lose at Southampton this weekend? What other motivational tools does he have at his disposal? Arteta, of course, hopes he will not need any, but with games coming up against Chelsea, United and West Ham after Southampton, it feels like a must-win.
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale admits this is a severe examination of Arsenal’s character.
“People have to show what they are made of and if they are ready for the fight,” he said. “I know I am, I know the lads are. We have just got to see that on the pitch and the training ground.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, and can’t blame others — we have to look at ourselves first and foremost in the mirror and then listen to what the manager has to say in terms of detail and analysis. We have to trust what he is saying, and go again.
“Two games on the spin we have lost, but we don’t shy away from the way we try to play. We are not going to shy away from the challenge.
“It was supposed to be our bounce-back game, but now we have got another game to try to bounce back and win, and I know we are good enough to do that.
“We have lost two games, it is not a crisis. We should have got a result against Brighton but people still speak to each other, people still perform and people were still running in the 96th minute trying to make an equaliser. As I said, nobody is hiding away or anything like that. It is just two bad games and two bad performances.”
If Arsenal can get back on track, the north London derby on May 12 could end up a decider for fourth place.
Ramsdale added: “It is going to be interesting. It’s the north London derby, it does not matter if we are both going for fourth or it’s a dead rubber. It is going to be spicy and a game we will prepare well for.
“But there is a long way to go until then — a lot of points to play for.”
