Champions League Race Heats Up

The battle for Champions League qualification is heating up, and Arsenal are right at the heart of it.

After a dramatic weekend of surprises and comebacks, the race for the top 5 Premier League spots — which guarantee a place in next season’s Champions League — is now tighter than ever. With just two games to go, six teams are still in the running.

The Situation

• Arsenal, currently in 2nd place, are only 6 points ahead of Nottingham Forest, who sit in 7th.
• There’s just a 2-point gap between Arsenal and 3rd-placed Newcastle.
• Arsenal will face Newcastle this Sunday at Emirates Stadium — a key clash that could decide who finishes higher.

Last weekend, Arsenal drew 2–2 with Liverpool after going 2–0 down early, while Newcastle beat Chelsea 2–0.
Manchester City, sitting 4th, were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Southampton.
Nottingham Forest only managed a 2–2 draw with already-relegated Leicester, and club owner Evangelos Marinakis was seen arguing with coach Nuno Espirito Santo after the match.

Other Contenders Struggle

Both Manchester United and Tottenham, who are also preparing for European finals (Europa League and FA Cup), lost their weekend games at home:

• United lost 2–0 to West Ham.
• Spurs were beaten 2–0 by FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace.

Arsenal’s Focus Shifts Back to the League

Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League semifinals by PSG earlier this week, but now their full focus is on securing a return to Europe’s top competition through the league.

After trailing 2–0 by the 21st minute against Liverpool, Arsenal looked set for another tough defeat — they had only won one of their last five league matches. But second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino helped them pull level. Merino was later sent off with a red card.

Coach Mikel Arteta admitted:

“Our first-half performance was not acceptable. It’s good we responded, but we should never start a match like that.”