If Arsenal lose to Wolves is the top four race over?

With no other competitions to distract Arsenal this season it is full steam ahead on the quest to finish in the Premier League top four.

Failing to qualify for Europe this season brought a torrid end to 25 years of continental action, although the silver lining of playing fewer matches presented the Gunners with the chance to dedicate more time to on-site training and domestic focus.

No longer in the FA Cup either, the decision to streamline the squad in January made a degree of sense: players who would not contribute for the remainder of the campaign could be moved on in advance of the summer to free up space for additions at the end of the season.

Not signing a striker with goalscoring pedigree to account for Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah’s goal shy numbers nonetheless constitutes a huge risk. Netting just once in the five games played across January exacerbated those concerns.

If Arsenal lose to Wolves is the Premier League top four race over for Mikel Arteta’s side? Absolutely not, but it will be made to look that way

To kick off this final flurry, Arsenal will travel to Molinuex to face Wolves. Quietly going about their business this season, Bruno Lage’s have the chance to leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table if they secure three points.

Should that occur then it would be a result that undoubtedly is viewed through the lense of January’s (non)activity. The narrative will have shifted, Arsenal will have gone six matches without victory and the top four would be in serious doubt.

Will Arsenal be out of the race for the Champions League spots if they lose? Of course they won’t.

But the optics will be bad. There is no denying that, and then the focus will hone in on January’s failings and a huge opportunity missed to inject some attacking quality in the side to help Mikel Arteta’s men clinch that elusive fourth spot. Doing so is well within their grasp and not helping the team with a goalscoring touch will cause audible distress.

Beating Wolves – or at least not losing and then securing the three points against the same opponent two matches later – is imperative not just for the need the top four race, but also to prevent an unavoidable backlash that will arrive on the grounds of January’s business.

All of the soft factors need maintaining: mood, confidence and belief. How the supporters see the team, how the team sees itself and how those rivalling Arsenal for the top four perceive the Gunners are all important.

Defeat changes the entire outlook of the remaining 16 matches thereafter. Zero points from the Black Country will cast a dark cloud over the Gunners’ ambitions. It won’t kill their goals mathematically but it has the potential to bring them to a crashing halt mentally.

That can’t be allowed to happen.