Arsenal crash out of Champions League, and the worst might still be coming

Arsenal's recent Champions League exit to PSG eradicated their chances of winning silverware, while it also blocked a potential pathway into next season's edition of the competition. In poor league form and their spot still not confirmed, there is now a worry they may not qualify at all.

Having spent much of the season in a seemingly comfortable position to secure a spot among Europe's elite for the third consecutive campaign, their recent drop-off on the domestic front has thrown that into doubt with the Gunners now thrusted into the dramatic battle for a top-five finish.

With just three games remaining in the Premier League, their next two matchups are very tough. Mikel Arteta's side face a trip to champions Liverpool this weekend before they host fellow Europe hopefuls Newcastle seven days later. They will fancy themselves to secure a win on the final day away to already relegated Southampton, but poor results in their next two matches could make that a do-or-die game.

The Gunners being knocked out of the Champions League was painful to say the least, but there is potential for their season to turn disastrous with the possibility of them failing to qualify via their league position looking somewhat likely.

Arsenal crash out of Champions League, and the worst might still be coming

Six clubs are still battling to finish in the Champions League spots, with seven points separating second-placed Arsenal and Aston Villa in seventh.

According to the Opta Analyst, the Gunners have over a 99.9% chance of finishing within the top-five in the Premier League, but given their very shoddy form over recent weeks, nothing can be ruled out. Arteta's side have won just one of their last five league matches and that came away to now-relegated Ipswich Town.

If Arsenal's form wasn't so up-and-down, I would have full confidence they could see out the remainder of the season and go on to qualify for Europe's top competition, but with them currently being so unpredictable, it's worryingly likely they could in fact drop out... statistics and projections aside of course!

A difficult trip to face champions Liverpool awaits on Sunday afternoon and even with the Reds potentially suffering from a 'title hangover', the Gunners will find it difficult to come away from Anfield with a win. They have not won in the red half of Merseyside since a 2-0 victory in September 2012.

Fellow top-five contenders Newcastle then head to Emirates Stadium a week after and having already won in north London once this season, along with two victories at St James' Park, they will certainly fancy their chances of snatching three points from Arsenal.

If the Gunners do lose their next two games, that could leave them needing a win on the final day at Southampton. In normal circumstances, most would favour them of defeating a dismal Saints side, but as the past has shown, this young squad don't always bode well under pressure.

This is all hypothetical of course and with Chelsea still set to meet both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, the chances of the Gunners being leapfrogged by all of them are incredibly slim. The substantial goal difference Arteta's side boast also puts them well in favour of a top-five finish.

Regardless, Arsenal have to end their league campaign in strong fashion in order to qualify for the Champions League and avoid anything that'd be a disastrous and worst possible conclusion to their season. To not qualify would make this simply a terrible year.

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