Arsenal need a miracle if they are to finish in the top four after drawing against Brighton on Sunday.The Gunners require an eight-goal swing on the final day of the Premier League season to finish above Tottenham.It’s an embarrassing end of the league campaign for Unai Emery’s side. Arsenal have collected four points from a possible 18; they’ve let a top four spot slip through their fingers.Arsenal can still qualify for Champions League by winning the Europa League.But given their form, can they really be relied upon to progress to the final and win that match?
It certainly won’t be easy.
The match against Brighton started well enough, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opening the scoring from the penalty spot in the ninth minute.
Bissouma laughing at the Emirates
But they failed to add another and were made to pay when Glenn Murray equalised with a penalty of his own in the second half.
The disappointment was clear at full-time, with Nacho Monreal sinking to the ground.
Yet Brighton’s Yves Bissouma was enjoying every second of it.
A clip of the midfielder laughing on the Emirates Stadium turf has gone viral on social media.
Oh, Arsenal. They’re a laughing stock right now.
Emery will have plenty of work to do in the summer, with the cracks in this Arsenal side becoming clear over the past few weeks.
The defence cannot be trusted while Aaron Ramsey’s departure will be a huge loss.
And there are too many players in the squad who just aren’t at the level required to compete.
“I look at Lewis Dunk, he’s a better centre-back than Arsenal have got,” Jamie Redknapp assessed on Sky Sports afterwards.
Considering Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal were as equally frail in crunch time, perhaps the issues in north London run deeper than first thought.
The mental toughness has often been called into question and it seems that Emery will need to address this matter in the summer.