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Sokratis: 'Arsenal not out of top-four race'

Sokratis: 'Arsenal not out of top-four race'
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The Gunners round off their campaign with games against Leicester, Brighton and Burnley.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos accepts Arsenal must win their remaining three Premier League matches to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top four – but he believes they can do it.

The Gunners' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are out of their own hands after Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Wolves left them a point behind rivals Chelsea.

Arsenal have away games at Leicester and Burnley left to play, either side of facing Brighton at the Emirates Stadium.

Sokratis, who scored in the loss at Molineux, thinks taking the maximum nine points from those fixtures is within the Gunners' capabilities.

"We have to look at the next three games where we need to win all three to get nine points," he told the club's official website.

"We'll see if we can be in the top four. I trust my team 100 per cent, all of the players. I think we can do it.

"We know that we didn't play well but we now have three chances and we have to win all the games.

"Of course (we get angry). The players want to play in the Champions League, we like winning and we want to be there. It's not easy.

"We look towards the next game (at Leicester). It's a difficult game. We know that now the chance could go, so we have to take the three points in all three games. I hope that we win on Sunday."

Wolves' win enhanced their own chances of securing European football for next season as they moved back into seventh place in the table – which will be enough for a Europa League spot should Manchester City win next month's FA Cup final against Watford.

Matt Doherty, who scored Wanderers' second goal against Arsenal, told the club's official website: "We're seventh again, and that's where we want to finish.

"That might give us a chance of playing European football and we want to challenge ourselves, so playing in Europe is the next step."

Arsenal became the latest of the Premier League's top-six clubs to taste defeat at Molineux, where Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have also been beaten this season.

Doherty said: "We've had a great season. Maybe our performances against the top six might lead some people to believe that we've over-achieved, but personally I don't believe that we have.

"We just need to make sure we finish the season off strongly now."

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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