5 reasons why Arsenal will be top four contenders next season

4. Mikel Arteta has a great philosophy

Hopefully last night, neutral fans got a glimpse of why we love Arteta so much. Not only is he a great decision-maker on the sidelines, but he is also behind the scenes. He is not one to rest on his laurels and he holds no biases.

Yes, he will give his men a much-needed rest after the last two performances, however, he won’t let them forget about the Premier League. In his post-match interview yesterday, he claimed that the focus is still on achieving as high a finish as possible in the league, to give the players some motivation heading into next season.

A top-six finish is still very much on the cards this season, but it will rely on other results going the Gunners’ way. With Aston Villa and Watford the only two teams left to play in the league, in theory, this should be an easy six points. Let’s just wait and see.

This is why I think that we can seriously mount a top-four challenge next season. The league position isn’t *too* important, of course, since we can now qualify for Europa League football if we win the FA Cup, however, Arteta isn’t going to let his players have this mindset. He will want to finish as high up the league table as possible, which will give us plenty to build on heading into next season.