Mikel Arteta has acknowledged the problems Wolves could give Arsenal this week at the Emirates Stadium as well as the overall race for top-four.
Speaking to the press via Football London, the north London boss admitted that Bruno Lage’s side will be up there in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot, with Wolves six points off Arsenal’s rivals Manchester United with two games in hand.
Whilst Arsenal have three games in hand and are just four points off the Red Devils, the Gunners find themselves with a rough run of fixtures that starts this week against Wolves, with Arteta’s side facing the likes of Leicester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa in their next six games.
Indeed, the battle for top-four is going to be an intense one. And for Arteta, Thursday’s opponents have a strong chance of claiming a shock spot in the Premier League table. The Arsenal boss said when asked if Wolves are Champions League contenders: “They look like it. If you look at the last two games and how they played against us they’re going be up there.”
With five clubs eyeing that illustrious fourth-place in the Premier League, Arsenal are fighting a tough battle that could see the Gunners either return to the Champions League or go a second season without qualifying for Europe, with Wolves well in the mix.
The margins will be fine, and for Arsenal fans, Thursday’s contest against Wolves will give a strong indicator on whether or not Arsenal have the playing quality and the mental capacity to achieve what felt impossible at the start of the season.
Arteta is right to worry over Wolves’ surge ahead of Arsenal clash
Lage has taken Wolves to a level not many would have expected following Nuno Espirito Santo’s debut season with the Midlands club in the Premier League, and with Arsenal facing the Portuguese manager this week, the result could dictate the two teams’ top-four projections.
Arsenal will be desperate to deliver at the Emirates Stadium, where Arteta has turned the ground into a fortress this season, yet with Wolves yet to suffer defeat in the red half of north London since their return to the Premier League, it will be an interesting fixture for the neutral.
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