But at most we can get 3rd. Is 3rd and 4th really much different? Thats my point. Is it worth the risk to not take 4th now with the possiblity we could end up 5th?
True but having played a game more - and as the poll shows some at least are nervous about the likelihood of a collapse at a vital time.
There is a difference. For a start, we do not have to play two high pressure games at the start of the season. We can go into the transfer window on day one knowing that we will get the full CL money compared to hedging your bets and waiting for the outcome of the playoff.
I think thats just me and you jayram But yeh, its risk reward. Sure 3rd is better but the difference between 3rd and 4th is tinyy compared to the difference between 4th and 5th.
I thought we could survive without the cl money though. I mean I think thats an excuse if the board were to use it. They tell us time and again we arent built around requiring cl footie.
Points on the table. We can't tell for certain what will happen with our rivals games in hand, but we can check the table now. Also our goal difference is the better than our rivals. Arteta is out, yes. But Diaby and Coquelin are also back in training. That should give us a boost in midfield.
We can 'survive' but that probably means not improving the squad. Getting third and going into the transfer window knowing you have CL football secured is a strong building block for the summer ahead. And it's going to have to be a huge one because we need an excellent summer if we are to progress to the next level. Starting it by being unsure about our place in the CL and worrying about the playoffs is not what we need.
Thats only 1 factor though. I think we are LESS likely to spend if we come 3rd. Wenger will convince himself that we dont need anyone as wilshire and diaby will be like new signings. We have seen it again in the last few weeks. That interview he did where he basically said he would evaluate what we needed based on how we finished the year made me want to vomit. I finally thought wenger "got it" this year. He made all the right noises untill this recent good run and now he seems to be back to thinking we are contenders! It beggers belief. I think a best case scenario is if we stagger over the line in 3rd place. That seems unlikely though. If we come 3rd we will probably end fairly well and I expect arsene will then dodge the issues again in the transfer window. And that would be a shame as all the tools are there for a title push next year...with a few additions.
We should go for 3rd for sure... I hope the players are not even thinking about finishing 4th. 4th is now no longer good enough.
What a poor mindset to have. We are Arsenal, we've been knocked out of every competition since Feb, so what exactly have we got to aim for? Getting 4th would be an even poorer end to the season considering we have a points advantage over the other 3 and that Chelsea have the Champs league and FA cup to contend for. We have to press for the advantage and win the game against Chelsea....
What Ammaar said. Christ, if we ballsed it up after all the faith I kept in the face of daily mockings from 'friends' I'd not be able to live it down! Do you know how many obnoxious victory dances I've done in people's faces (non sexual) when we got to third?! DO YOU?!
I think 4th would be considered acceptable, considering how bad (at times) we've been this season, 3rd would be very nice, 4th is infinitely better than 5th.
That was then, now is now. Over the course of a season, your targets tend to adjust. We have been 3rd for some time now and even created some space. To lose this now would be considered another failure and this failure will be transmitted to the next season. We need to end on a high and take that into next year, if we hope to progress.
