Arsenal fans left with nothing to celebrate

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This article was published 29/04/2017 (3389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time in more than two decades there will be no St Totteringham’s Day celebrations in North London, no marking with a movable feast the occasion of Arsenal guaranteeing yet another finish above Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Spurs, presently second in the English top flight, would have to bottom out for that to happen and Arsenal — in sixth spot and 14 points back of their fierce, local rivals — would have to run the table. Neither is going to happen and even if the Gunners triumph at Tottenham in Sunday’s derby, the joy will be muted, the bragging rights brief. Should leaders Chelsea stumble, Spurs could still sneak the title; Arsenal require a miracle to merely qualify for the Champions League. It promises to be a rather awkward spring in this part of the capital — one the Gunners, in particular, are unaccustomed to in recent times.

Not since the season before manager Arsène Wenger’s appointment in 1996 have Arsenal concluded a campaign in a position inferior to Tottenham’s. Often teased for celebrating the achievement of fourth place and its resulting Champions League qualification as if they’d won a trophy, Gooners have similarly revelled in being able to peer down the table at Spurs, spring after spring after spring.

It could well be that the cancellation of St Totteringham’s Day hits Arsenal harder than their likely absence in European football’s most prestigious club competition. And while Wenger, in his pre-match press conference, was right to insist that a single season doesn’t represent a power shift in North London, even the hint of a turn in the tide is enough to infuriate his club’s supporters.

And they, whether he admits it or not, will determine whether he signs a new contract or departs Emirates Stadium.

He has so far been coy about his plans, although the latest indications suggest he intends on signing a fresh pact. In any event, he’d prefer to be the author of his future, to stay or go on his own terms a la former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson, however, left after winning a fifth title in seven years — a spell that also included a European Cup. Wenger, having not delivered a championship since 2004, is more likely to make his exit amidst considerable unrest than even a piece of faux silverware: fourth spot or finishing above Spurs.

To agree to a new contract he must first have one put in front of him, and given the calls for his departure that have grown in volume the past few months it’s entirely conceivable that the club’s owners simply won’t table one. They don’t need the embarrassment of another year of protests and infighting, and a season outside the Champions League would perhaps provide the opportunity for the sort of scorched-earth rebuild the playing squad requires.

Spurs have already done their part to set that all in motion, and watching their hostile neighbours descend into chaos must surely provide no shortage of satisfaction.

Not only won’t their fans have to suffer the indignity of another St Totteringham’s Day, but they could also soon find themselves celebrating a unique double of their own: topping Arsenal in the table and chasing Wenger out of England.

Spot kicks

• The pick of Serie A matches this weekend has Roma and Lazio going head to head in the fourth Derby della Capitale of 2016-17. Roma were 2-0 winners in the league back in December, but since then Lazio have ousted their local rivals from the Coppa Italia over two legs. Still, with Edin Dzeko on 25 goals and looking to edge Torino’s Andrea Belotti for the Capocannoniere, free-scoring Roma should be able to see off Lazio and remain at least four points clear of second-place Napoi.

• Rangers are unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership since the March appointment of ultra-intense manager Pedro Caixinha. They have, however, since lost to Glasgow rivals Celtic in the Scottish Cup, and on Sunday the Old Firm Derby will kick off for a sixth and final time this season. Celtic have long since secured the title; Rangers are pretty much locked into third place. All that’s left to play for is Celtic’s undefeated record in the league — both defending it and ending it — and Rangers would love nothing more than to inflict a blemish on their eternal adversaries.

• Thiago Alcantara put pen to paper on a new contract Friday that ties him to Bayern Munich through 2021. The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the world’s best midfielders this term, passing for high percentage and demonstrating the sort of positional skills that result in 115 interceptions.

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