The Gunners could still qualify for the Uefa Champions League, however, if they can win the Uefa Europa League, with a semifinal looking likely after their 4-1 win at home to CSKA Moscow on Thursday in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
Wenger’s side also have a good chance of gaining some London bragging rights by overtaking Chelsea to finish fifth in the league this season – they can narrow the gap to the Blues to two points with a win at home to Southampton on Sunday, putting pressure on Chelsea as they host West Ham later in the day.
Arsenal have been very good at the Emirates Stadium in the league this season, winning 12 of their 16 home matches, with just two defeats. January signing Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is showing signs of settling down to his prolific best, too, with a double in Arsenal’s win over Stoke last weekend.
Southampton, like Stoke, are deep in the relegation mire, with Mark Hughes’ side third-from-bottom, though they do have two games in hand on the sides around them. The Saints will need to play far better than they did in a 3-0 hammering by West Ham last weekend, but even that might not be enough to beat Arsenal.
The Gunners do have attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan out with a knee ligament injury, with reports suggesting he could be out for the rest of the season. In the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, however, Arsenal have plenty of in-form midfield support for Aubameyang.
You can watch Arsenal’s game against Southampton live on SuperSport 3 from 3.10pm on Sunday.
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