Arsenal Vs Southampton: A top-four opportunity

Arsenal host Southampton on Sunday afternoon. With their top-four rivals facing difficult matches this week, this is a prime opportunity to make hay in the top-four race.

With a weekend off in the Premier League due to the FA Cup fifth round being played, it feels as though the league campaign has been on a hiatus. By the time Arsenal play another Premier League match, it will have been more than two weeks since their last, a squeezed 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town.

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In the meantime, the focus has very much been the Europa League, easing through what ended up being a far trickier tie than it should have been. But the Premier League returns to the fore this weekend, and the Gunners, over the next week, have been presented with an opportunity that they cannot afford to pass up on.

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Arsenal play two home fixtures over the next few days. First, they host Southampton on Sunday afternoon. Then, on Wednesday night, Bournemouth come to town. Both matches are very winnable and would give Unai Emery’s side four wins from their last four league matches. That is the kind of run that they need to put together between now and the end of the season to sneak into the top four.

But more than just having kind fixtures, Emery’s direct rivals for that final top-four position, Manchester United and Chelsea, do not have the easiest fixtures either. United host Liverpool at the same time that Southampton arrive in north London. They then travel to Crystal Palace in the week, which is certainly no gimme.

Chelsea, meanwhile, do not have a league match this weekend. Instead, they play Manchester City in the EFL Cup final on Sunday afternoon. They then host Spurs on Wednesday, a match that they would be favourites to lose — or at the very least drop points in.

But even if Chelsea were to beat Spurs, that would then provide Arsenal with the opportunity to drag their dearest rivals right into the top-four fight. Spurs play Burnley away this weekend, which is not the easiest match in the world. They then play Chelsea and the north London derby in successive matches.

Spurs are currently ten points clear of their north London rivals, but if they were to lose next weekend and drop points against Burnley and/or Chelsea, the gap could shrink significantly. It is not inconceivable that they could be just four points clear by the end of this week.

The race for the top four is on. It is extremely tight, at present, but there is an opportunity for Arsenal to grab hold of their own destiny this week. Three wins from their next three games will likely put them in the driver’s seat for Champions League qualification.