Arsenal: West Ham draw a microcosm of the entire campaign

Balancing Europa League with Premier League

The Europa League continues, and with it, hopes of Champions League football remain.

Arsenal have somehow managed the luckiest of the draws, meaning that should they get passed Slavia Prague, who are in the midst of an investigation of racism from their last round match against Rangers. From there, the Gunners must expect to face their old boss, Unai Emery, currently coaching Villarreal against Dinamo Zagreb.

While Emery is a master at bossing in this tournament, Arsenal have the better players and should be hungry to demonstrate that their old boss simply misused them during his time at the Emirates.

This sets up the possibility of facing one of three teams in the final of that competition, Roma, Manchester United, or Ajax. Of those three teams, I personally would rather face Roma but all three would cause tough games for Arsenal; balancing the race for this and Premier League success is still an act worth attempting, however.

Consistent Consistency for Arsenal? For a Change?

While this is all sorting itself out, Arsenal still find themselves with nine matches to play. The toughest of those games remains Liverpool to begin April, Everton to end the very same month, and Chelsea in the middle of May. This means that six of the nine games should be three points, meaning that 18 more points should be what we expect from this team at the minimum for the rest of the campaign.

Will that be enough to shepherd the club into European competition without a Europa League title? Perhaps.

Should Arsenal prove themselves capable of some consistency across these final three months of the various football campaigns, there are still rewards to be won and earned. Arteta’s third trophy, the one that likely would’ve bought his predecessor more time at the post, would propel the Gunners into the Champions League, into more economically secure company, and into the stratosphere’s that the best clubs exist in, and lure players into.

But one way or another, it must get done. The Europa League would be acceptable to be in once again, but Arsenal need to be in the Champions League. While it may seem improbable, it is not impossible by domestic routes at this point in the season; the UEFA Europa Conference League would be the easiest competition to win for the club, but would also be somewhat embarrassing.

Across these last nine domestic games, 18 points must be the floor. Anything higher than that and I think the club can reach a top six position. Anything worse, and every Arsenal supporter will become exclusively reliant on a European trophy to lift their club to the next level, from whence they’ve been separated from for so long.