Here’s a trivial football question: What can London boast that Barcelona, Munich, Milan or Lisbon can’t match?
The answer is that none of these cities, home to some of Europe’s most successful clubs, can claim to have an unbroken streak of Champions League group stage qualifying dating back to the last century, but London can. .
Since Arsene Wenger’s Premier League and FA Cup Doubles winners qualified for the Champions League in 1998, London has had at least one club in the group stage every season. Only Madrid and Manchester have longer unbroken streaks, with multi-club cities such as Athens, Istanbul and Moscow also failing to produce at least one group stage rep in every season of the 21st century.
But London risks giving up its record of being a fixture in the Champions League this century. The 2020-21 Premier League season has passed half-time and West Ham United are at the head of London’s attempt to have at least one side at Europe’s first table. This may be a sign of the decline of the capital’s traditional powers – Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur – rather than the rise of fifth-placed David Moyes’ side, four points behind fourth-placed Leicester City.
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Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool humbly reminded the Hammers, however, of the progress they still need to make to become a team capable of sustaining a push for European qualification; Few in West Ham would expect London Stadium to host Champions League football next season. Moyes’ side are progressing and a place in the Europa League would be considered a success.
But that’s another story at Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs. For each club, missing out on the Champions League would be a big blow, both in terms of finances and prestige. It would also be much more difficult for them to recruit top players capable of closing the gap on clubs Manchester and Liverpool in the coming seasons.
On Thursday, Spurs host Chelsea in a crucial clash for the ambitions of both. Spurs are six points behind Leicester, but with one game in hand, following Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Brighton with Chelsea on the same number of points having played one game more than Jose Mourinho’s side. And Arsenal, despite five wins and two draws in their last seven league games, are still eight points behind the Champions League pace in 10th position.
Can any of London’s big three find a way to make it into a top four that’s already starting to emerge? Manchester City and Manchester United appear on their way to qualifying for the Champions League, as do reigning champions Liverpool, so perhaps London’s only hope is for Leicester to endure the same end-of-season crisis that plagued them. cost a top-four spot last season.
Arsenal have the most to do, but they have at least found form and goal under Mikel Arteta. In December, the Spaniard’s future was in question after overseeing the club’s worst start to the season since 1974, but the manager’s decision to back the promise of youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka was rewarded with the race. undefeated who saw all the players – – young and old – begin to deliver.
Absent from the Champions League since 2016-17, Arsenal’s inability to secure major finances related to UEFA’s elite competition continues to hamper their rebuilding efforts in the post-Arsene Wenger era. Their early-season form almost certainly left them with too much to do, and they face another season outside of the Champions League.
Spurs and Chelsea can still close the gap, and Thursday’s result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will give an indication of which of them is most likely to threaten Leicester’s grip on the fourth. Chelsea have already made the choice to shake things up at Stamford Bridge by sacking manager Frank Lampard and replacing him with former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel.
After spending over £ 220million on new hires last summer, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned Lampard’s sacking knowing Tuchel has time to turn the tide and find a way out. inspire Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to find the offensive quality that motivated their recruitment. . In two games so far under Tuchel, Chelsea have racked up four points and kept two clean sheets, so there are early signs of progress. But that can be reversed with a loss at Tottenham.
However, it is Spurs who should be the favorites to fly the London flag in the Champions League. Mourinho has Premier League experience and a proven track record in the Champions League. Spurs also have a game in hand which, if they win it, will lead them over West Ham and move them three points behind Leicester. But Spurs have suffered a dramatic loss of form in recent weeks, with just two wins in their last nine league games. Since relinquishing first place with a 2-1 loss to Liverpool on December 16, Mourinho’s side have fallen like a stone, scoring just nine goals in seven games.
With Harry Kane now sidelined with an ankle injury and Gareth Bale showing nothing to compare to his best form since coming on loan from Real Madrid, Spurs risk running out of steam and scoring goals, as the race of the first four begins to intensify.
Like Arsenal before them, Spurs need Champions League football to fund their new stadium. Failure to qualify again would raise question marks over the club’s ability to hang on to Kane and Son Heung-Min. But at the moment, none of London’s heavyweights seem a safe bet to qualify for the Champions League, and the city’s uninterrupted run in the competition is in jeopardy.
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