Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta has conceded that Champions League qualification for Arsenal is all but out of their hands.
The Gunners suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Olympiakos last week, crashing out of the Europa League in the process despite having taken a first-leg lead to the Emirates.
The Gunners are also tenth in the Premier League – eight points behind fourth-placed Chelsea – which means they are likely to miss out on the Champions League once again.
Arteta admitted that making the top four will be very hard for Arsenal, but the Spaniard has vowed to keep fighting until the final game of the season.
“It’s very hard because looking at the table we’re still far from the objectives that we all have, but we’ve been far all season from it and we have to keep fighting. The most important thing now is that the dressing room has to be strong and we have to keep going and react. I just want to concentrate now on lifting those players and getting back the belief, and convince them that there is still a lot to play for, and move on.”
Arsenal host West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday. They are into the next round of the FA Cup after beating Portsmouth 2-0.