How Arsenal can salvage their season with top-four hopes in balance

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Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal lost once again in the Premier League at the weekend; this time to mid-table side Brighton and Hove Albion.

Arsenal’s hopes of a top-four finish may be well and truly over following their weekend defeat to Chris Hughton’s Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Premier League newcomers have enjoyed a decent first season in the Premier League and currently sit in tenth place, only four places behind the Gunners.

Goals from Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray were enough to earn all three points for the home side, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s strike before half time ended up as a mere consolation.

The loss was Arsenal’s tenth of the season, meaning the club have already lost more games this term than they did in all of the last campaign.

With just nine games to go, the Gunners are now 13 points off the pace for a top-four finish, and would have to surely win all their remaining games to have even a glimmer of hope of qualifying for the Champions League. On top of this, they would have to pip both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, who currently sit in fourth and fifth place, which seems highly unrealistic given the current state of the team.

The remaining games all look very winnable for Arsenal, with only one game left against top six opposition in Manchester United. However, if their Brighton performance is anything to go by, Wenger’s men are not guaranteed a win against any top flight team.

Ironically, Wenger should look to his enemy Jose Mourinho if he needs any inspiration in terms of earning Champions League football for next season.

Last term, United finished in sixth place but put together a superb run in the Europa League which saw them defeat Ajax in the final and seal Champions League football via a more unorthodox method.

With Arsenal still going strong in UEFA’s second competition, Wenger still has a chance to qualify for the Champions League, but will have to overcome AC Milan in the upcoming round of 16 before he starts to think about reaching the semis or the final.

The Europa League now stands as the difference-maker in terms of Arsenal’s season, and appears to be Wenger’s only real option when it comes to salvaging his campaign, reputation and even potentially his job.