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‘If Arsenal get anywhere near top six I’ll be happy’ – Gunners great Wright sets target for Arteta
The former striker has been encouraged by recent performances and believes European qualification can still be secured in 2020-21
If Arsenal got “anywhere near the top six” this season then Gunners great Ian Wright says he would be “happy with that” and consider foundations to have been put in place for future success.
Mikel Arteta appeared to be carrying out that construction work in 2020 as he oversaw FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs.
Those successes proved to be another false dawn for Arsenal, with the north London giants getting off to their worst start to a season since 1974-75.
A run of three consecutive victories around the turn of the year has helped to turn the tide somewhat at Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners looking up again rather than over their shoulder.
Wright has been encouraged by performances against Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom, with confidence slowly returning to Arteta’s ranks.
If that momentum can be maintained, then European qualification through final league standings is still there to be shot at in 2021.
“If Arsenal got anywhere near the top six and they start to create and do what we’re seeing now in the last few games, I’d be happy with that, for now,” the legendary former Gunners striker told The Kelly and Wrighty Show.
“I think that the confidence that will be going through the guys now, they’ll be looking forward to those games.
“Whereas a couple of weeks ago, before the three wins, they would be games where you’d be thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this could be quite intense for Arsenal’.
“Before the Chelsea game they had a run of games where you couldn’t see Arsenal winning, with the form that they were in. But in the Premier League, three wins changes everything.
“It changes the confidence, you’ve got players who can’t wait to play and Arsenal look like a different proposition to teams now.
“The two [Premier League] games coming up now, Arsenal will feel like they can win those games.”
An FA Cup third-round clash with Newcastle is next on the agenda for Arsenal, with the Magpies due at the Emirates on Saturday.
Steve Bruce’s side will also be faced in Premier League competition on January 18, with that fixture being sandwiched by a home date with Crystal Palace and a trip to Southampton.
