Arsene Wenger is hoping that the haphazard nature of the final day of the season will somehow see Manchester City or Liverpool slip up and Arsenal qualify for the Champions League.
Arsenal need to beat Everton and hope Liverpool can’t beat Middlesbrough or win and hope that Manchester City lose at Watford and that they can make good a five-goal deficit in goal difference.
And though it seems unlikely, Arsenal were in a similar position in 2006 when a bout of illness saw Tottenham’s first-choice line up severely weakened and Arsenal overhaul them on the last day for Champions League qualification.