LONDON -- Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this week described Champions League qualification as a "game-changer" and Saturday's chaotic 3-1 victory over Manchester United underlined why the clubs vying for fourth place in the Premier League need it so desperately.
It is perhaps the biggest indictment of the flaws and inconsistencies in both the Gunners and Tottenham Hotspur that United still had a shot at a top-four finish before kick-off despite Ralf Rangnick barely disguising his dismay at the scale of the rebuild at Old Trafford ahead of incoming manager Erik ten Hag.