Morning. How are you doing? Still licking your wounds from Sunday? 

Yeah I know. Me too. 

It’s probably a good thing that there’s a bit of quiet coming out of the club this week. They’re all probably wrapped up in their bubbles somewhere. As for you and I, we have to deal with Tiny Totts here, there and everywhere. They’re on social media, they’re in the pubs, they’re at your work. They’re infestation spreads everywhere and all we can do is look at the wreckage that is the club at the moment. Not wreckage like Leyton Orient mind, but for a team who has certain expectations, who pays individuals substantial money to deliver at a certain level, yeah – we’re a bit of a car crash.

This season can’t end early enough. I’ve looked at the fixtures in the next three weeks and it’s all I can conclude. Mourinho will fancy his chances on Sunday. Southampton will certainly fancy theirs at home in midweek, then we go to Stoke City, a club in which we’ve won just once in the Premier League. Things could get a lot worse before they get better folks. Let’s also not forget that horrid chart going around. You know the one. It has Arsenal fourth from bottom in the table with just two points from away Premier League matches in the league. Only Stoke, Hull and Burnley are below us. That is a damning endictment of our form this season. 

In 2005/6 we finished with Arsène Wenger’s lowest ever points haul as manager. We had 11 defeats and picked up 67 points. As it stands today we have 60 points. A draw on Sunday followed by two defeats away at grounds that we’ve traditionally suffered and 67 points is probably the best we could hope for. It would also mean another 11 defeats in a season. A season in which many of us had hope in September and even in January didn’t clamour for new signings. After all, we were all pretty convinced that we didn’t need anybody new, weren’t we? I know I was. The squad is there. They just seem to have turned in to a metaphorical plate of jelly mentally.

They are all talented footballers and lord knows they’re better than the side who featured Denilson, Senderos, Bendtner and Chamakh in, yet they’re failing terribly to produce the required effort and deliverability of points. 

The best points haul we could hope for right now is 75. That would rank level with 2009/10 and 2014/15. On both occasions top four was assured as we know, but in 14/15 it meant coming third. But when you look at this season, it looks like a long stretch, because United can feasible finish on 77, City on 78 and Liverpool on 78 too. United play us and the Totts. They might get something from us but I’d be surprised if they get anything from the scummers. If we beat them on Sunday then certainly we could catch and surpass them, but not City, not with their fixtures. City play Palace, Leicester and West Brom and you can’t see them getting anything more than nine points, which puts them on 75 needing to beat a Watford side on the beach by the last game. 

So that’s one of the remaining two slots gone for us I fear. So how about Liverpool? Well, the news doesn’t get any easier I’m afraid folks, because Liverpool play Southampton at home – tricky but a game they should win, West Ham away which should be a dead cert, followed by a Middlesbrough side at home that will probably already be relegated by then.

So I’d expect Liverpool to pick up a minimum of 75 points by the time the season ends. And both City and Liverpool are better placed with regards to goal difference.

So it’s obvious now – if it wasn’t obvious towards the most blinded of Arsenal fans – that Champions League is done for us. That leaves just the FA Cup and as it stands you can’t see this team, with the mental block that they have, winning against Chelski. I hope to be proved wrong because I’ll be buying my final ticket today when they go on sale, but it looks bleak.

We’re sixth right now and that’s where we’ll stay I think. And five years ago I would have thought that would be enough for Arsène being the proud man that he is, to admit that his methods aren’t working any more, that it’s time for a reboot at Arsenal. But I’m not sure I believe that any more. If Arsène signs this new deal then he is signing it for himself and not the benefit of the club. I never thought Arsène would be the type of man to do that. He will be ignoring the blindingly obvious and be doing it because he is unable to relinquish power. 

It will be a sad day if that happens and I just hope I’m wrong and he does step back. Let’s have him call it a day and let’s just remember the glory he brought us in his first ten years in charge. 

Then let’s move on with our lives and our football club.

Catch you tomorrow.