Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have been told that it is "now or never" if they want to return to the Champions League.
The Gunners have not finished in the top four since 2016, when they finished second to Leicester. Since then, they've fallen away and have had to settle for Europa League football - or no European football at all. Arteta has aimed to make the North Londoners competitive once more following his appointment in 2019.
Last term, Arsenal fell narrowly short as they were pipped to fourth by rivals Tottenham. They invested heavily in the summer and have started impressively this time around, winning six of their seven games to go top of the Premier League. Former Chelsea defender Robert Huth believes his former club could fall away in the wake of Thomas Tuchel's sacking, opening the door for the Gunners.
He told Ladbrokes : "My opinion on this year’s top four has all changed with the sacking of Thomas Tuchel. I was expecting Chelsea to be right up there, especially after the recruitment they did in the summer. But now I just don’t see them doing it.
"I think Arsenal need to finish in the top four. With the money they’ve invested in the team and the time they’ve given Mikel Arteta, you’d have to say it would be a bit of a failure if they didn’t make it this season. It’s really now or never, for me; it’s Arteta’s third year, he’s brought in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko who have massively improved the team.
"In the past, they’ve fallen short with a few games to go, but this year I think they’ll sneak in. They’ve got that real grit, the kind of grit I’ve not seen at that club for a while now. It’s great to see. Arteta’s always on the touchline, fighting every ball and it really translates to the team."
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Manchester City and Liverpool are seen as certs for the top four, leaving Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United to battle it out for the remaining two spots. The Gunners were dealt their first defeat of the season on the red half of Manchester in September, losing 3-1 thanks to a Marcus Rashford double and a strike from debutant Antony.
Arsenal's next assignment comes on Saturday lunchtime against neighbours Tottenham, who have made impressive strides forward under Antonio Conte, who was backed financially in the summer as the likes of Richarlison and Ivan Perisic arrived.
Following the Gunners' latest win at Brentford, Arteta claimed his side want to "push to be the best that we can be and that’s the aim and then the table won’t lie after 38 games".
