Arsenal: Of course the Champions League is still possible

Mikel Arteta has gone off the cuff and said that Arsenal can still qualify for the Champions League. Only that isn’t off the cuff at all. It’s completely realistic.

Arsenal sit tenth in the table… still. And they’ve drawn their last four matches. That’s hardly the look for a team that could still qualify for the Champions League. So your initial impulse when Mikel Arteta said that the Champions League is still possible might well have been one of disbelief.

But stay that though, ye doubters. Ye of little faith. Ye pessimistic. Ye who are tired of me saying ye. Because Arteta is absolutely correct and 100% within his right mind to say that the Champions League is no pipe dream. It’s a very possible reality.

As we all know, there are two routes to the Champions League. Via finishing in the top four and via winning the Europa League. Both routes are still viable.

As for finishing in the top four, we are ten points behind eclectic Chelsea. Who have less points in their last five matches than the Gunners do. That’s right, despite four straight draws, we have gained ground on Chelsea.

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Crazy. But it just goes to show that with 13 matches still left, ten points is far from an impossible climb. Especially considering that this defense is improving and this attack has yet to really dial in its true potential.

Let’s talk about the other way, the Europa League. In the past two years, Arsenal have made progress in the Europa League. Last year, Arsenal finished as runners-up to Chelsea. That was an improvement on the year before, when we were bounced in the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid.

So yeah, if you’re a fan of progression, then it stands to reason that we would win it all this year. And with a shored up defense, I have all the faith in the world that we can. And so does Mikel Arteta.

Two very realistic pathways, one very realistic outcome—The Champions League. Arsenal have not gotten back into the competition since Arsene Wenger saw us to two straight decades in it, but getting back in would be the one big step forward that we’d need to show that we are past Wenger and ready for the next step.

Honestly though, I don’t see it as a necessity this year. It would raise Arteta’s stock massively, but he has all next year to sort out the big problems and get us back into the Champions League.