Arsenal bid to reverse slump against Brighton
London. Arsenal have one foot in the Europa League final but know they cannot afford the luxury of taking it easy today’s match against struggling Brighton as they chase a Premier League top-four berth.
Unai Emery’s team have wobbled badly in the league in recent weeks, losing four out of their past five matches after putting themselves in a strong position.
They are two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with two matches remaining, the first at home to Brighton today and the second away to Burnley the following week.
But they still have two chances to reach next season’s Champions League -- by winning the Europa League or moving up a place from their current position of fifth in the Premier League.
Arsenal lead Valencia 3-1 ahead after the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday. Victory in that competition guarantees entry into the Champions League next season.
Emery, who said reaching the Champions League again after an absence of two seasons is the club’s “first objective”, is aware that he is not in control of the situation.
“We need to win the next match and if we win against Brighton we are going to the last match against Burnley with the possibility to be in the top four,” he said. “It’s not in our hands, but we need to win our matches and the first is Sunday. It’s not easy to win each match, for us and for other teams, but the focus for us is to win against Brighton for different situations.
“We are going to play the last match at home and we want to finish at the Emirates with a victory. (AFP)
