Arsenal Vs Everton: Just one at a time

With seven games remaining in the Premier League, Arsenal are chasing a top-four finish. Their next match is against Everton on Sunday. For now, Unai Emery and his players must take it one at a time.

The target of a top-four finish is right within reach. After wins against Manchester United and Newcastle United, allied with Spurs and United both dropping points with losses to Liverpool and Wolves respectively, Arsenal sit in fourth position and can move into third place and extend their gap to fifth place to three points if they win their game-in-hand.

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The Gunners, with no top-six opposition left to play, are in pole position to take one of the two remaining top-four spots behind Manchester City and Liverpool. But there is still a long way to go.

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On Sunday, Arsenal travel to Goodison Park to face an improving and dangerous Everton. It is by no means a gimme. And Unai Emery is quite aware of that fact. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the critical trip, Emery was keen to ensure that his players remained focused on the task at hand, rather than looking down the line at what could be, come the end of the year:

"“I am very realistic. We are in a good moment. It depends on Sunday as well, these three points, but now each match is very important for that. If we win, we are third. If we don’t win, we can’t hold this position <…> But it’s a long way to go and we need to be positive, but also realistic and the reality is that Sunday is a very big challenge and a very big opportunity now. We are going to continue in our way and Sunday is the first. I think the players are very, very focused for this match and for our moment.”"

That intensely blinkered mindset is precisely how Emery and his players must approach every game between now and the end of the year. Arsenal will likely be favoured for every league match that they play. But there are some extremely tricky contests, starting with Sunday’s match against Everton.

Should, for whatever reason, Emery’s team not play up to standard, they will be punished. Everton have the quality to hurt Arsenal. The same can be said regarding upcoming trips to Watford, Wolves, and Leicester City. They are matches that should be won, but are easy hurdles if they are not provided full attention.

Emery and the squad, therefore, cannot look too far down the road. They cannot afford to overlook these matches. Their sole focus must be on the next match. Nothing more. Just take it one at a time, because any mistake could be the fatal one.

The margin of error is so tight at this stage in the season that any dropped points could end the top-four hunt. If Arsenal win every match between now and the end of the year, they will finish in third. They just have to keep knocking off the victories. One at a time.