One thing Arsenal fans have grown accustomed to is the club's annual top-four finish. By hook or by crook, Arsenal's long serving manager Arsène Wenger invariably guides his team to the Champions League places come the end of the season.

However, this season may prove to be an anomaly. The Gunners are currently four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, though they do have a game in hand.

The question on everyone's lips; can Arsenal once again secure a top-four finish? When taking into consideration the form of the teams above Arsenal, it's difficult to see them being back amongst Europe's elite next season.

Arsenal's inconsistency on and off the pitch

Arsenal are struggling for form, having lost three out of their last six Premier League games. Before Wednesday night's defeat of West Ham United, their last league win was in February, coming by way of a 2-0 triumph at home to Hull City.

The atmosphere around Arsenal Football Club recently has been borderline toxic, with a few contributing factors.

There's the uncertainty over the future of key players such as Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil. Arsenal's two talismans have a little over a year remaining on their contracts, which has drawn speculation that the pair might be looking to move elsewhere. The likes of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are among though to be linked with summer swoops.

Arsène Wenger has mere months remaining on his contract, certain sections of Arsenal supporters feel it's time for him to move on, whereas others believe he's still the man to take the club forward.

Either way, speculation over the manager's future can't be helping matters, and the Arsenal board should endeavour to draw a line under what is becoming a saga at The Emirates Stadium.

Another factor that is in the back of every Arsenal fan's mind is the progress their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur are making. Spurs are sitting pretty in second place, and it looks like they may finally finish the season above their north London counterparts given their 11-point advantage.

If Arsenal are to finish in the top four, they will need to put a winning run together sooner rather than later. Their next three league fixtures see them face both relegation-battlers Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough away from home before hosting a rejuvenated Leicester City at the Emirates.

It's not unfair to suggest that the aforementioned fixtures are all must-wins for the Gunners as they aim to put together a streak and pile the pressure on the teams above them. After that trio of games comes a huge potentially make-or-break showdown with Spurs away from home.

Club's key players must come to the fore

A common criticism aimed at Arsenal is the fact that their squad are seemingly lacking leaders and characters.

The likes of Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez and Theo Walcott are all fixtures in the Arsenal starting XI, but do they provide enough of a lift to surrounding players?

Numbers wise, across all competitions, Arsenal's first choice attackers are having strong seasons. Sánchez, Arsenal's best player this season, has hit 22 goals whilst also boasting 15 assists. Walcott has 18 goals, his largest tally since the 2012-13 season where he managed 21 goals. Özil has netted nine times, and has the same number of assists.

These figures make for good reading, but judging by the fact that Arsenal sit in sixth place, something is quite obviously not right.

The way in which Arsenal fell apart in their 3-1 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion last month was alarming. When backs were against the wall, they didn't have an answer. They conceded two identical goals from corner kicks and replays have shown that no Arsenal players took any sort of initiative or responsibility.

Arsenal will need to dig deep in the coming months to achieve a top four finish. Their more important players must demonstrate leadership qualities in the final stretch and West Ham was an important first step, but they must maintain such form until the end of the campaign.