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Arsenal face two huge games to ensure Champions League football next season...and maybe Mikel Arteta's job.
Two games. That's it. That's all that's left for Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side before they can put what has been an up and down 2024/25 season in the rearview mirror.
But make no mistake, there will be no limping to the finish line as the Gunners' season is delicately poised and nothing is guaranteed.
Arsenal face third-placed Newcastle and then are away to the already relegated Southampton on the final matchday. Both will be tricky outings as the Magpies are one of the better teams in the division and the Saints have nothing to lose and might want to end the year on a high as they head for the Championship. Manchester City were left frustrated on their recent visit to St. Mary's.
Arsenal, having been second in the league for the majority of the season, are now in a position where the unthinkable could happen.
With just five points separating Arsenal in second from Chelsea and Aston Villa in sixth, if the Gunners lose to Newcastle, and Villa, along with Chelsea win both of their games, then the Gunners would have to win at Southampton on the final day of the season to secure Champions League football.
Arsenal not safe in Europe yet
For a thin squad, and one that might not have Declan Rice for the rest of the year, that isn't an ideal scenario.
Granted, if Arsenal beat Newcastle then all of this is moot, but the Gunners are coming off a performance against Liverpool that was a classic tale of two halves. The Reds could have been out of sight in the first half had they been more clinical, but at 2-0, the Gunners were still in the game.
Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino scored to earn Arsenal a point, and what a point it might turn out to be.
But what if the Gunners lose to Newcastle and then Southampton, while Villa and Chelsea win? It is out of the Champions League for Arsenal, and we aren't sure if Mikel Arteta could survive such a situation.
It makes these next two league games huge in the context of Arsenal's season and Arteta's future.
If they can beat Newcastle at home, Champions League football is secured, but lose, and that nightmare scenario is 90 minutes away from becoming a reality.