There is no time for the Arsenal players to celebrate reaching the FA Cup Final on Saturday as the games are coming thick and fast. Today the Gunners will play host to West Ham in a game the club and the fans hope will breathe new life into the Premier League season.
An admittedly tough March brought with it abject displays that all but ended Arsenal´s charge towards the Premier League title. Worse still, the club now sits outside the Top 4 and needs Everton to drop points to qualify for the Champions League next season. The season now stands on the brink of being a disaster or a success, but the run in of the Premier League season will decide which. If Arsenal get fourth and claim the FA Cup, the season could be viewed as one of progress, but if Champions League football is not acquired for next term, not even a Cup win could mask what would be a disaster for the club.
So, fourth position remains ever important (the fans will have to hold off disappointment from a fallen title push) and West Ham is the first hurdle for the club. The Hammers are a typical Sam Allardyce team; strong, robust, hard to break down, and able to disrupt from set plays. In other words, the South London club plays the type of football Arsene Wenger teams struggle against. Nevertheless, the Gunners will be favourites at the Emirates Stadium, but recent form would suggest the players will need to raise their game to get three points.
West Ham will not attack with pace, so Per Mertesacker will have plenty of time to get to grips with an in form Andy Carroll. With Everton winning on the weekend, Wenger needs to approach this game with the intent of winning comfortably, so could the Frenchman be tempted to pair Lukas Podolski up front with Olivier Giroud? That is unlikely, but a more attacking approach from the midfield will be needed if Arsenal are going to maintain pressure on Everton in the race for fourth place.