Owen Hargreaves believes will not finish in the top four after their shock loss to Brighton made it back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.
On Saturday, the Gunners lost 2-1 at home to the Seagulls which has left them three points behind north rivals Tottenham in the race for a spot.
The defeat was Arsenal’s third in four Premier League games and second on the bounce following a 3-0 loss at on Monday night.
Speaking yesterday, Hargreaves – the former Manchester United midfielder – thinks Arsenal now face an uphill struggle to secure a place at Europe’s top table next season.
He told Premier League Productions: ‘Really damaging. They controlled their own destiny. They’ve got some really hard fixtures coming up.
‘I don’t see them finishing top four anymore. You know, two big losses – Palace and Brighton today. Disappointing for Arsenal fans.’
Mikel Arteta’s men have been disappoining in the last two matches as injuries to key men Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney – who is out for the rest of the season – have taken their toll.
Against Brighton, Arteta moved Granit Xhaka to the left-back position to cover for Tierney but the ploy appeared to backfire as Sambi Lokonga struggled to cope alone in central midfield.
Goals from Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu sealed the deal for Brighton despite a late Arsenal fightback following Martin Odegaard’s consolation.
Speaking afterwards, Arteta bemoaned the lack of tempo and intensity in his team’s play in the first half.
He said: ‘We created a cold atmosphere, an atmosphere we weren’t comfortable with and when we tried to change it, it was too late. It was great not to give up, but it was too late.’
Arsenal now face a difficult run of fixtures with Chelsea, Man United and West Ham to follow their next game against Southampton.
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