WHATEVER Arsenal do in their two remaining Premier League games against Aston Villa and Watford, they are going to end the season with their lowest points total since 1995.
And even this shock victory handed to them on a plate by sloppy Liverpool cannot disguise the size of the task facing Mikel Arteta.
For they still trail Jurgen Klopp’s team by a mammoth 40 points, which would be the furthest they have EVER finished behind the Champions in the club’s history.
So you really shouldn’t read too much into this result.
Klopp was left open-mouthed in shock as defensive howlers by Virgil van Dijk and Alisson let lucky Arsenal off the hook.
Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson were the grateful recipients of the visitors’ generosity to move the Gunners back to within two points of bitter rivals Spurs in seventh place.
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Yet Arteta appears to have all but given up on the idea of securing Europa League qualification via their League position if this evening’s team selection is anything to go by.
Aubameyang, Ceballos, Bellerin and, err, Mustafi were all rested for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and Ozil still couldn’t even make the bench.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, City were able to leave De Bruyne, Sterling, Laporte, Rodri and Bernardo Silva out of their starting line-up against Bournemouth earlier in the evening.
So maybe Gunners fans shouldn’t get too carried away about the prospect of getting into Europe by winning the Cup.
For it is impossible to believe that City will be as casual at Wembley as Liverpool were this evening.
Maybe Arteta can take heart from the fact that just three years after finishing 12th in 1995, Arsenal were crowned Champions under Arsene Wenger.
But there is no way this lot will be mounting a title challenge any time soon.
They might be moving slowly in the right direction but the painful reality is that they are so far off the pace they need a telescope.
And quite how they close that chasm remains a mystery.
