Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta 'praying' for late Champions League charge ahead of crucial run

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal are entering the defining part of their season as they prepare to take on Leicester City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City over the next fortnight.

After a slow start following football’s return, Arsenal have clicked into gear and their victory at Wolves on Saturday was their fourth in a row.

The Gunners still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League because, if Manchester City’s ban from Europe is upheld, a fifth-place finish could be good enough. They are currently six points off Manchester United, who occupy fifth spot.

Arsenal face Leicester City tomorrow, Tottenham on Sunday and Liverpool next Wednesday, before taking on Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final a week on Saturday.

Arteta said: “We know how important these games are going to be for the future of the season, so we are very focused and committed to trying to do as well as we can.

“We are on a good run, we’ve got some momentum and we’re getting to the crucial point of the season where we’re going to face the top teams in the next two weeks and we’re just trying to get prepared as well as we can.

“I think we have to win every game and then wait and pray. It’s not about winning one game. We need to go game by game.

“A few weeks ago, we were really far from even thinking about Europe and now we are a little bit closer at the moment. So let’s go game by game and see where it takes us.”

Arsenal have had a packed schedule since football’s restart, with tomorrow’s match with Leicester their seventh game in 21 days.

Arteta, as result, was assessing his squad today to see if rotation was required from the side that beat Wolves on Saturday.

Two players who are unlikely to be involved in the match, however, are Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil.

Ozil has not played a minute since football returned last month, partly due to a back problem, while Guendouzi has not featured after his altercation with Brighton striker Neal Maupay following the 2-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium on June 20.

When asked if Ozil or Guendouzi stand a chance of playing this week, Arteta said: “Still, the situation is as it was before.”

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