Five reasons why Arsenal will be playing in Europa League next season

Currently sitting at 7th spot in the BPL Arsenal have an uphill task to climb up the table and obtain a place in next years UEFA champions league. Here are the top 5 reasons why they are not going to make it in this difficult journey.

1) Lack of a genuine attacking midfielder-

Arsenal fan’s have been crying for at least one marquee signing this January but despite the need for Attacking Midfielder, Arsene Wenger has failed to secure a deal. Although there weren’t too many players available, but relying on the trio of Rosicky, Ramsey, Arteta to spearhead the midfield role did not produce the results intended. Also the uncertainties of the long term absentees Jack Wilshere and Diaby has not helped Arsenal’s cause. A deal for Lyon’s forgotten man Gourcuff could have eased the burden on Arsenal’s midfield. But Arsene’ s negligence in buying an attacking midfielder might well be the start of a crumbling Emirates.

2) Reinforced Chelsea -

While Arsenal signed a future prospect in Eisfeld,Chelsea have yet again gone into the market and snapped up a player to bolster their leaky defense in the form of Gary Cahill. The England international was a real bargain and considering their defensive short comings its a very good deal. The improving form of Fernando Torres coupled with the reinforcements might well be the push that the blues need and thus capture the all important Champions League place.

3) Tired Van Persie and Gervinho -

It’s evident that RVP is the reason we are still in the top ten of the BPL. But in recent weeks he has been wasteful, this may well be related to him getting burned out. Manager Arsene Wenger has talked about resting his star man before the match with Blackburn, but sooner rather than later RVP will have to play thrice a week due to the return of the UCL games and FA cup campaigns. This may jeopardise his exceptional goal scoring form. Similarly Gervinho who is going to be back after a hectic AFCON. The former Lille star has had a mixed season for Arsenal, but has been fundamental in Arsenal’s resurgence in December. The fitness of these two front men will be very crucial to Arsenal’s struggle for the fourth place.

4) Pressure of winning a trophy-

Yes it was going to catch onto arsenal sooner rather than later. Six years without a trophy (& probably another one) means Arsene Wenger cannot compromise on any of the competitions. Which in turn is going to effect the players performance in the next three months on a mental as well as a physical level. It is very difficult for arsenal to make ends meet with a thin squad that they currently have.

5) Wasteful in front of the goal -

The biggest reason for Arsenal’s demise will probably be their wastefulness in front of goal and their inability to kill games. It happened against Fulham, almost happened against Villa and then recently against Bolton too. The likes of Walcott, Ramsey(even van Persie recently) have been guilty of missing sitters, and as Arteta said in a recent interview, it is one of the most important reasons why Arsenal are where they are in the league table.

A Ray Of Hope-

Despite all these problems Arsenal have their players coming back from injuries which is a plus. But one man who could really be the X-factor for Arsenal is their new prodigy OXlade chamberlain. The 18 year old has been a revelation and recent performances have shown that he is the prototype of what Aresnal actually need.Pace, power, vision are some of the attributes lacking in general in the arsenal squad but this man has it all. Hopefully he will have a standout 2012 and make the fourth place mission possible.