Arsenal enter this weekend’s crucial Premier League clash with Manchester United under an intense amount of pressure, as the defeat to North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week reopened some huge wounds.
Frustrations towards the squad, and particularly manager Arsene Wenger, are on the rise again following the latest set-back in the Gunners campaign, which has left Arsenal requiring their top-four rivals to drop points if they’re to land Champions League football.
Arsenal have a game in-hand on Manchester United and Manchester City ahead of them, as well as two games in-hand on third-placed Liverpool, but the Gunners will not leapfrog their rivals unless they receive help from elsewhere.
Amidst all the issues at Arsenal this season, fingers have been pointed in all directions but now is the time for the club to rally together to push towards trying to achieve their end of season expectations, especially with the upcoming FA Cup final with Chelsea.
Arsenal have five Premier League games before their showcase clash with Chelsea at Wembley and it gives the Gunners the chance to string together a strong run of results, starting with a victory this weekend against Manchester United.
A win at the Emirates Stadium against Jose Mourinho’s side on Sunday would significantly raise morale for Arsenal, who would then prepare for remaining matches against Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland and Everton on the back of positivity.
Defeat this weekend, however, who realistically put an end to Arsenal’s push for Champions League football and the frustrations around the club would increase- which would in-turn hurt the Gunners chances of winning the FA Cup and keeping prized players.
Arsenal have plenty of questions to answer in the summer and have a wealth of problems to fix but now is not the time to seek an outcome, as there is still a lot of important football matches to be played and the club has to be united.
The Gunners showed they’re capable of achieving great results with the FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City and they could achieve a similar result on Sunday against a depleted Manchester United side that will be tired following the Europa League semi-final victory over Celta Vigo last night.
It’s a surprise that we’re at this stage of the season and we don’t know what’s happening with Arsene Wenger’s future but it’s now too late for an outcome to be revealed, as it could have disastrous effects on the end to the season, and it would be better for all involved to wait until the summer.
Whilst that may not appease fans, there’s little to gain with making an announcement now and fans must focus on what they’re there to do- support the team.