Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal: Who’s Getting Top 4, Who’s Missing Out?

It’s going to be a tight race for top 4 in the Premier League this season, with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal all firmly in the race for the coveted spot. But which team will make the cut and which ones will miss out?

With just 3 points seperating Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea between the 4th and 6th positions in the Premier League table, the race for top 4 is going to be very, very tight. Of course, 4th place guarantees Champions League football for next season, which goes a long way to maintain a clubs finances at a healthy level and keep them competitive in the market and on the pitch. To miss out on the Champions League and have to play in Europa League is a near-disaster for these clubs, and Arsenal have actually spent the last two seasons in the 2nd fiddle of European competition, while Chelsea have taken part in it this season.

None of these 3 clubs will want to be playing in Europa League next year, but it will become a reality for 2 of them, or at least 1 of them, if Spurs tumble down the table in the coming months (but let’s ignore them for now). Here are the reasons why each of the 3 clubs will make top 4, and the reasons why they wont.

ARSENAL WILL MAKE TOP 4 BECAUSE OF: Their ability to score goals out of nothing:

Arsenal have so many defensive deficiencies that everyone is aware of. They’ve lost their best defender, Hector Bellerin for the season, and they possess some of the most frustrating defenders in the division, such as Mustafi and Kolasinac. What Arsenal does possess however, is significant fire-power in the centre-forward position. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have a whopping 28 Premier League goals between them, with Lacazette in particular showing the ability to score goals almost out of thin air.

While Aubameyang requires the service of others to score his goals, Lacazette has scored many by creating space to shoot all by himself. The qualities of these 2 have gone a long way for Arsenal this season, and it’s difficult to imagine where in the table they’d be without the quality of Alexandre Lacazette.

ARSENAL WILL NOT MAKE TOP 4 BECAUSE OF: Their squad being of far lesser quality than Chelsea and United:

It’s no secret that Arsenal have the weakest squad in the top 6. Despite having 2 top-class centre-forwards that I mentioned in the previous point, the defensive core is extremely weak, especially after Bellerin and Holding’s long-term injuries. As well as Arsenal are capable of playing, their defence always has mistakes in it. Their lack of unpredictable and direct wingers also causes them to become very stale in their chance creation on occasion, which could also derail their chances of top 4. The main issue however, is always at the back. Arsenal are just never trustworthy without the ball.