Arsenal know that anything other than a win against Everton surrenders the Premier League title to Manchester City. At the same time, the Gunners must rely on West Ham doing them a favour at the Etihad Stadium to give them any hope of lifting the trophy.
With that in mind, Mikel Arteta therefore needs to get his line-up spot on but with it being the final game of the season, there are some additional narratives that could come into play. Some might argue that there should be zero reason for sentiment, but when the impact is so small there is an argument for it to feature here.
Arsenal have been relatively comfortable victors on the final day of the campaign for many years. Scoring goals has come easily but almost always there has been very little if anything on the line just like when they faced Everton in 2022 and put five past Frank Lampard’s then side.
One area of sentiment that was mentioned could be in the goalkeeper department. This game is expected to be the last time that Arsenal fans will see Aaron Ramsdale in Gunners clothing at the Emirates Stadium with a summer move expected.
Having Ramsdale play the final game of the season would be quite the send-off, however unlikely it is for Mikel Arteta to make that call.
In defence, whilst starts for Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are almost guaranteed, the left-back remains in flux. The return to fitness of Jurrien Timber has changed that.
