Gunners eye fourth position

LONDON. — Arsenal can take a significant step towards qualifying for next season’s Champions League soccer by beating Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium tonight. The match kicks off at 9pm. Gunners fans have taken participation in Europe’s premier competition as a given in recent years but the challenge of Everton has put a top-four finish in jeopardy this term.

However, Everton’s 2-0 loss at Southampton on Saturday was a big boost for Arsene Wenger and his players, and victory over Newcastle would give them a four-point advantage over the Merseysiders with just six points available to either side.

Wenger, the English Premier League’s longest-serving manager, has also indicated he intends to sign a new contract at the end of the season, although until that actually happens speculation remains inevitable with the 64-year-old Frenchman’s current deal expiring at the end of the current campaign.

“I have said that many times already, I have given my word to this club and that I want to continue where I am,” Wenger said in an interview with a Middle East television station. “That means to stay.”

Wenger will be sure to keep an eye on Newcastle striker Loic Remy, who is on loan for the season from Queens Park Rangers.
Remy is believed to be available for an £8 million fee and Wenger is known to be an admirer of the France international who, at 27, should have plenty more seasons at his peak ahead of him.

“He is a very good striker,” Wenger confirmed. “But at the moment we focus on the end of the season, not strikers.”
Arsenal will go into the match on the back of Premier League victories over West Ham and Hull City and will meet the latter in the FA Cup final next month.

The Gunners saw off holders Wigan in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals and defender Bacary Sagna believed that success had bolstered their league form.

“It was about time to wake up and that’s what we did recently in our games,” he said. “We’re fighting a bit a more and we’re helping each other a bit more as well.

“We had to react because we were beaten too many times and didn’t fight to win those games. We showed a different image from what we’ve done in the past year and it was not Arsenal. — BBC Sport.