Tony Cascarino believes Arsenal haven’t played like a top six team this season

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Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four are hanging by a thread after Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Leicester City.

The Gunners have another chance to take their seat at Europe’s top table by winning the Europa League – a competition in which Unai Emery is an expert – but their league form has tailed off.

Tony Cascarino, as per the Game, the Times, 29/04, page 3, has piled into Arsenal, saying that they have not really looked like a top six team at any stage of the season.

He said: “They had that long winning run early… but even that was with narrow victories. This is the softest Arsenal team I’ve seen in a long while. They lack leadership.”

“Their defence is so average. Roy Keane said Manchester United don’t look like a team of winners and I would say the same about this Arsenal. Unai Emery has a lot of work to do.”

Cascarino’s assertion that Arsenal have not looked like a top six side is awry when considering they’ve been in the top six since the middle of September.

As for those ‘narrow’ wins, only two of the seven were by a solitary goal. So Cascarino appears to have overstated the point here, in truth.

It’s true that Arsenal still have more work to do – especially away from home – and need signings, but they could get into the Champions League via the Europa League and considering how close they’ve come to the top four in the league, that’s a decent effort for a first campaign.