Arsenal will have to win all of their remaining games and hope for a bit of luck on their side if they are to secure a place for Champions League football next season, according to Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners are back to seventh position on the league table after three Premier League wins in a row, against Southampton, Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
The wins leave the north London club six points off Manchester United who are fifth on the standings, and eight off Chelsea who occupy the last Champions League spot with five games until the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
Difficult fixtures against Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and league winners Liverpool are in the pipeline for Arteta’s team, and that could possibly determine their fate in fight for an European spot.
Mikel Arteta believes they will have to be up to the task if they are to return to the prestigious club competitions in Europe. He said: “We’ve got some momentum getting into a crucial stage of the season where we are going to face the top teams in the next two weeks.
“We have to try to prepare as well as we can. We know how important these games are for the future of the season, so we are very focused and committed to doing as well as we can.
“I think we have to win every game, and then wait and pray. We need to go game by game. Two weeks ago we were really far from thinking about Europe, now we are a little bit closer. We’ll go game by game and see where it takes us.”
Two players who are set to miss out against Leicester are Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi, with the former yet to play since the restart.
Asked about the duo, the Spaniard insisted: “It’s still the situation as it was before.”
Alexandre Lacazette scored his eight league goal this term and his first away goal since February 2019, after coming off the bench against Wolves. The attacker has two more years on his current deal at the Emirates Stadium and the gaffer is willing to open talks regarding his future.
“We have to have a chat about the next step with him, to get his idea and his feeling,” said the Spaniard. “I am really happy with him. He’s a player I always liked, even when I wasn’t here, because of what he brings to the team, his quality and his work rate.
“Now we are in a crucial moment it’s not time to talk about a lot of contract situations. We still have time and we will do it in the right moment.”
