West Ham suffered a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend, weakening the Gunners’ top four hopes.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger appeared to take a pop at West Ham United following their dismal 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, effectively accusing them of being on the proverbial beach for that fixture, as reports the Daily Mail.
The Gunners are relying on Liverpool dropping points in order to finish in the top four, with Arsenal’s Champions League fate out of their own hands following a run which has seen them lose six of their last 14 Premier League matches.
If Arsenal win their game in hand on Liverpool – against already relegated Sunderland – they’ll be one point behind Jurgen Klopp’s side heading into the final day, but it seems as if Wenger believes that the Merseyside outfit’s situation would’ve been more difficult had West Ham turned up.
Speaking ahead of their match with the Black Cats, Wenger took aim at clubs in the league who he felt had completely given up on their season once survival was confirmed, while also claiming that his Arsenal side would never do that as they do things correctly.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
“We do our job properly, we are focused until the end, and as long as we are in the competition we prepare the team well, and that’s why we always finish strong, because we keep our focus,” Wenger said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“I don’t look at the other fixtures. Some teams turn up, some go on holiday. It’s difficult to plan, so you just want your team to do well, to focus until the last, be professional and do your job properly until the last second of the season.
“This season, it looks at the end of the season many teams who have been assured to stay in the league have just released their focus.”
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho celebrates scoring their third goal
It’s very possible that Wenger could be slyly unleashing into Slavan Bilic’s West Ham side, who themselves had flirted with relegation at one point during the season, before pulling themselves to safety with a 1-0 win over Swansea City.
Since that win over Swansea in early April however, West Ham have won just once – against Tottenham Hotspur – and seem very likely to finish their Premier League campaign in the lower half of the table, safe from relegation but without troubling anyone higher up the ladder.
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