Is Arsenal’s dream of Champions League football over?

Given the context, the Gunners have played perhaps the worst two games of their season, at the most inopportune time. With the chasing pack coming up fast, Arsenal held a two or three match buffer over the competition.

However, back-to-back defeats now mean that instead of being at the top of the list of favorites, Mikel Arteta’s side is part of the chasing pack. Tottenham are now leading the race for a coveted top-four spot, one that was seemingly Arsenal’s for the taking, with West Ham and Manchester United not far behind.

Spurs have been rampant of late and should Arsenal win their game in hand, they will still trail their rivals due to the huge goal differential.

The injuries to Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney have transformed Arsenal from top four certainties to struggling to claim a European place at all. Granted, at the start of the season, had someone said to you that Arsenal, with eight games to go, would be in the hunt for a Champions League spot, 100% would have taken that. Not now. Fans expect Champions League football.

Is Arsenal’s dream of Champions League football over? Faltering Premier League form and injuries could spell an end to a top four finish

Having spent so much energy coming back from the disastrous start to the league campaign in which the Gunners lost their first three games without scoring a single goal, to be right in the mix for a top-four place is incredible.

The one thing that Arsenal and Arteta could not afford was injuries. Having used the January transfer window to trim the bloated squad and cut a huge slice of the wage bill, no reinforcements were brought in.

Only playing one game a week seemed like it was working out, but should Alexandre Lacazette, or Bukayo Saka, or Thomas Partey (as he is now) have got injured, then the threadbare squad could be tested in the run-in.

This nightmare is playing out right before our eyes. Still with Tottenham, Manchester United, West Ham and Chelsea to come in the remaining eight games, Arsenal could very well capitulate as we have seen previously, or they could strengthen their position in the league table.

As we have seen over the last two weeks, things can change in an instant. With Arsenal playing away to Southampton at the weekend, Spurs at home to Brighton, Liverpool hosting Manchester United, and West Ham hosting relegation-threatened Burnley, there is a chance for Arsenal to press their gap over United and West Ham out to six points with games in hand.

Tottenham has Brighton, Brentford, Leicester City, and Liverpool before hosting the Gunners on May 13. Arsenal has Southampton, Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham, and Leeds before taking on Spurs. The top four race could be out of reach for Arteta’s side by then.

United have Chelsea and Liverpool in their remaining games and also have tricky away games at Brighton and Crystal Palace. It is shaping up as a two-horse race for the top four. After seemingly having its destiny in its own hands, Arsenal has shot itself in the foot yet again. While a Europa League place isn’t the end of the world, Champions League football had emerged as the ultimate, and achievable, target.

Still, with a game in hand on Tottenham, Arsenal simply can’t afford any slip-ups in the remaining eight games. They finish the year with Newcastle and then Everton in the final two weeks while Spurs have Burnley and Norwich. The fixture list shines kindly on one half of north London.

The top four race is going down to the wire, but will we look back on the last two games and say that is where Arsenal lost it? Or does Arteta’s side still have some fight left after fighting all season long?

The injuries and losses have come at a horrendous time in the season. The last two months of the season will tell us a lot about the mentality of this Arsenal team, one that had demonstrated such resilience previously. Will they finally make their way back into Europe’s elite?