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Adebayor: back among the goals

I expect to see an Arsenal team in a very carefree mood, passing the ball around with gay abandon.

Matt Le Tissier
Quotes of the week

ARSENAL v EVERTON
Sunday, 1pm, Sky Sports 1

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Teams

• Arsenal
• Everton

Also see

• Le Tissier on Man Utd v West Ham
• Le Tissier on Liverpool v Man City

Everton are certainly not comfortable in that fifth spot with games against Arsenal and Newcastle still to come.

I expected them to lose to Aston Villa last weekend, but they picked up an important draw which keeps them in pole position for the remaining Uefa Cup place.

However, David Moyes knows his side could slip down to sixth if they lose at the Emirates Stadium and Villa win at home to Wigan.

The race for fifth is set to go right down to the wire because I can't see them taking three points off Arsenal. They might nick a point, but Villa will be hot on their heels and they'll have to get something from their last game against an in-form Newcastle on the final day.

One thing in Everton's favour will be the return of Mikel Arteta because he - along with Tim Cahill - has been the driving force in their midfield all season.

I've sung his praises in this column on numerous occasions because he's a super footballer. He's capable of controlling the midfield and the side is a lot better when he's in it.

But despite Everton's result last week, that fifth spot is far from guaranteed and it could go down to the final few minutes of the season. It would not surprise me if Villa still nicked it away from them.

So the pressure will be on for Everton, but the same can't be said for Arsenal.

Miracles

I know some fans will be hoping for miracles because they can still take the title if United and Chelsea lose both of their remaining games. However, I think even Arsene Wenger would admit that's highly unlikely!

It's a shame because it would have been nice for the neutrals to have a three-horse race at this stage of the season. If Arsenal had picked up three more points, then the closing stages of the season would have been very interesting indeed.

As it is, Arsenal's fans and players will finish the season knowing they were close to doing something special. There's very little wrong with this team and they'll look back on that run of four draws in four games in February / March and know that cost them dearly. That three-week blip was what let them down - and even then they weren't losing games, they just couldn't win them.

Saying that, Arsenal looked a little bit nervous when they were in the thick of the title race. On Sunday I expect to see an Arsenal team in a very carefree mood, passing the ball around with gay abandon.

Wenger will have resigned himself to the fact they won't be winning the title this season and that has given him the chance to experiment with his team a little bit.

Luckasz Fabianski started in goal against Derby and Theo Walcott is getting a run in the team, but I'm sure he'll keep the nucleus of the side the same.

Le Tiss Predicts

HOME WIN - The pack are closing in on Everton and the pressure is on them so I'm sure Arsenal will fancy their chances of a win on Sunday. I'll go for 2-1 to Arsenal.

Matt's Main Man

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR - He will be desperate to play because if he can nick a few goals then he's got an outside chance of finishing the season as top scorer. His drop in form coincided with the team's poor run and that says a lot about how important he is to Arsenal.