For many Arsenal fan they will be viewing this month as the 'Merry month of May'. Down the years it's been a hugely successful month, especially in 2013/14 when the club finally ended their trophy drought to win the FA Cup. Before that though the Gunners achieved victories against West Brom and Norwich in their final two league games. Of course Arsenal have reached the FA Cup final again in 2014/15 but five league games remain before the Gunners end the season at Wembley.
Arsene Wenger's side are currently unbeaten in ten, a run of games that has included an FA Cup win over Manchester United, a 4-1 win over Liverpool and a draw with Chelsea. For that reason Arsenal will go into their remaining league fixtures in May with every chance of coming away with 15 points out of 15. Of course it won't be as straight forward as that as the Gunners still need to travel to Manchester for a game that could well determine Arsenal's league position come the end of the season if all hasn't gone well before hand.
Unless anything untoward happens then Arsenal should qualify for the Champions League once more. Previous campaigns have seen disappointing League finishes as fans will be all too familiar with. However Arsenal will be hoping that they will be able to finally avoid the dreaded Champions League play-off place and finish in third or even second place. Providing they could do that, and achieve victory in the FA Cup final it will be a very good season and should launch a platform into next season.
Although Arsenal face perhaps easier opposition aside from United, those down the bottom of the table still have plenty to play for and won't give the Gunners an easy time. First up next Monday is Hull City who Arsenal of course beat 3-2 in the FA Cup final last May. Steve Bruce's side however come off the back of a 1-0 win over Liverpool and will therefore hope for a similar sort of result as they bid to avoid the drop. During Arsenal's run of games they also face Sunderland who are currently in the relegation zone. That game comes during the final week of the season as the Black Caps visit the Emirates on Wednesday 20th May. It's a game in hand that could have precautions at both ends of the table. For Sunderland it'll be vital in determining whether they stay up if they're not already safe. However an Arsenal win is expected in a game in hand which could mean the difference between a second or third placed finish in the League.
After Hull, Arsenal take on Swansea in a fixture that has caused problems for the Gunners in recent years. Gary Monk's team have been very efficient this season and remain a tough test for Arsenal. However with the form they're in the Gunners should achieve victory before going into their game with Manchester United. As mentioned this could decide who finishes where in the top four despite Arsenal's game in hand. United however will be out to avenge their FA Cup defeat and it should be a very close game.
Similar to previous seasons Arsenal will face West Brom in their final game. The Baggies travel to the Emirates in a game that come the final day, should be rather meaningless. West Brom look set to stay in the division whilst at this point Arsenal may well have wrapped up a top three position.
For once Arsenal don't have to go into the final month of the season fretting over whether or not they'll qualify for the Champions League. The Gunners tend to finish the season strongly and in a busy end to 2014/15 they should manage to finish strongly once more. Wenger's men could well come out of these reminaing fixtures with five wins from five but United could be the main stumbling block.
Arsenal's final 5 league fixtures:
- v Hull (a) - Mon 4th May
- v Swansea (h) - Mon 11th May
- v Manchester United (a) - Sun 17th May
- v Sunderland (h) - Wed 20th May
- v West Brom (h) - Sun 24th May