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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that his team is aiming to qualify for the Champions League and vowed to "go for it'.
The Gunners, locked in a top-four race with Tottenham Hotspur, visit St. James' Park tonight to face Newcastle United in their penultimate league game of the season.
Spurs, who trimmed the gap between themselves and the Gunners to just a point after their stunning 3-0 derby victory last week, kept the pressure on Arsenal with a 1-0 defeat of Burnley on Saturday.
Arteta's side will move back into fourth place with a win over the Magpies ahead of their final game of the season against relegation-battling Everton.
At the pre-match press conference on Sunday, the Spaniard was asked if finishing fifth could be anything to celebrate, to which he responded (via Independent):
“No. We want to be playing in the Champions League, and that’s the end. We’ve come so far.
Arteta continued:
“It’s in our hands, and we want to now capitalise on that and the excitement and the opportunity’s there, and we will really want to go for it.”
Arsenal haven't finished inside the Premier League's top four since clinching the runners-up spot in the 2015-16 season. They have come up eighth in their last two campaigns.
With only two games remaining, the Gunners cannot afford to slip up any further. Arteta has urged his team to capitalise on the momentum they've built. He added:
“It’s not pressure; it’s excitement, and this is what we have built over the last few months. And as I said, top four is the target. Now, it’s in our hands, and we want to deliver that.”
Arsenal facing defensive crisis ahead of Newcastle visit
It's an important game for Arsenal, but Arteta is facing some issues in defence.
Rob Holding is suspended for the clash after his red card in the loss to Spurs last week. Meanwhile, first-choice centre-backs Ben White and Gabriel are both struggling with injuries.
Neither was spotted at Arsenal's training session on Sunday. If both are unable to make it tonight, Arteta could be forced to use a makeshift backline with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Granit Xhaka.
For the record, Kieran Tierney is also missing in action after undergoing knee surgery, but Nuno Tavares is available and should continue to deputise for him in the left-back position.
