The race for the top four is well and truly heating up, as four teams chase down the final Champions League place by the end of the season. With games dwindling and head-to-heads still to be played, it is all hands on deck for the teams involved.
Those sides are, of course, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham. Given how close it is running, each team needs any advantage they can get leading into the final weeks.
Spurs currently hold fourth, level on points with the Gunners in fifth but having played a game more. As for the Red Devils and the Hammers, there is a three-point gap between the North London rivals and those two teams.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Partey's injury, Tierney's absence, Tavares sub and Spurs
While the race is still in the hands of Mikel Arteta’s side, they will likely need results against Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham and Tottenham, all of whom are yet to come in the run-in. It paints a difficult picture, only made tougher by a transfer decision made in January that appears to have backfired.
That was the club’s decision to not sign anyone while letting a few squad players leave during the window. This has left Arteta with a thin group to work with, although it was a decision backed up by the manager.
Speaking in February about the lack of action in the market, he said: “Edu and his team have done a great job. We are very clear we only want the best people and the best players at this club. When we are in a rush and the reasons to get a player on board are not the right ones we didn't do it."
However, it has since come back to bite them, with injuries starting to creep back into the team and leaving options few and far between for the Spaniard. Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu were just two that missed the defeat at Selhurst Park on Monday, but the sight of Thomas Partey also limping off was not ideal.
Arsenal currently have a lack of first-team options to come into the team to cover injuries and a lack of options to change the game from the bench. When the Gunners struggled against Crystal Palace, they had to call upon their squad players such as Eddie Nketiah, who has rarely featured this season, or Nuno Tavares, who had to be substituted at half-time due to his poor first-half performance.
Bringing along two academy prospects was just as promising for the academy, given their talent, as it is worrying at highlighting the lack of depth. Where Arsenal had an opportunity to strengthen in their pursuit of top four, they declined.
It wasn’t a risk in long-term thinking, but in the case of this season, it was huge. It could be the difference between them playing in the Champions League next season or missing out for another year.
