Mikel Arteta has admitted that finishing below arch-rivals Tottenham should hurt his players after another poor season for the Gunners.
Arsenal’s defeat away to Aston Villa on Tuesday night confirmed the Gunners could no longer overtake Spurs, denying a St Totteringham’s day for the fourth season in a row (BBC).
The Gunners could finish as low as 10th position and as high as eighth, however, they could still qualify for the Europa League if they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
The current manager and former Arsenal player admitted to the Evening Standard that finishing below Spurs should hurt his players badly.
Arteta said: “It has to hurt and we have to suffer because it is not good enough for this football club.
“That’s why we have to put it right, we have a challenge that is really big and we are facing it and we are really excited about what we have ahead of us.”
After a pretty turbulent season, Jose Mourinho’s men have picked up their form in recent weeks and are currently top of the Premier League form chart with 13 points from their last five games (PL).
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Spurs – who lie in seventh place – could finish as high as sixth spot this season if they can beat Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign and Wolves fail to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Spurs Web Opinion
After what has been a season to forget for us, finishing above Arsenal and securing Europa League football is a pretty good end result. Obviously, I want to see us play in the Champions League, however, I would have snapped your hand off a few months ago if you had offered us European football of any sort.
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