Arsenal Vs Huddersfield: Everyone knows it’s a must-win

Arsenal travel to Huddersfield Town on Saturday. Unai Emery has not been shy in stating that it is a must-win fixture. Everyone knows it. The pressure is now on to execute.

Arsenal want a top-four finish. I think that much has been clear throughout the season. Ivan Gazidis said it in the summer. Unai Emery reiterated that remark before the year started. Lucas Torreira made the same protestation just this week after Sunday’s loss to Manchester City.

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The defeat to City leaves the Gunners in sixth position, one point behind Manchester United, who they still have to play at home, and three points behind Chelsea. The final top-four position is likely a three-way fight between those three teams.

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While the loss to City was disappointing, and does leave Arsenal in a rather negative situation that they will have to dig themselves out of over the coming weeks, the top four is still a reasonable aim to shoot for this season. And it is not a loss at the Etihad that will determine whether they achieve that goal or not. Many teams will go to Man. City and get hammered this season. Gaining no points from that fixture will not end the Gunners’ chances of Champions League football next season.

Instead, it is games like Saturday’s trip to Huddersfield Town that will go a long way to shaking out the top four in the Premier League. And it is these games that Arsenal must relentlessly win if they want to break back into the European elite.

Prior to the weekend, Emery was asked whether he felt this was a ‘must-win’ match. His answer was resounding.

"“Yes. We started very well away, changing our mentality, but now we need to recover this confidence, to recover this performance and the next opportunity is Saturday against Huddersfield.”"

Usually, when a manager is asked whether an upcoming match is a ‘must-win’ or critical to their season or will determine their future at the club, then avert the question with a vague and inconclusive answer. They specifically do not want to respond with a ‘yes’ because they know that if they do and their team loses, they will be judged more harshly.

But Emery is not so political in his response. He simply says ‘yes’ — there have been reports that Alex Iwobi has also described this game as ‘must-win’, though I cannot seem to find any official quotes. I think the message is clear: this is a must-win game and everybody at the club knows it.

Whether Arsenal can actually execute or not remains to be seen. But the pressure is on to perform and to win. Anything less, as Emery proclaims, is not enough. The top four is dependent on it.