Arsene Wenger knows Arsenal are in control of their own fate as they bid to win the race for UEFA Champions League football next season.
Manager aware Gunners are in driving seat as they target Europe
Arsene Wenger knows Arsenal are in control of their own fate as they bid to win the race for UEFA Champions League football next season.
After reviving their season in the second half of the campaign, the Gunners sit third in the Premier League with two games remaining and hold a one-point advantage over nearest rivals Tottenham and Newcastle.
Victories at home to Norwich and at West Brom in their final two encounters would see Wenger's men over the line and the manager knows the fight for Europe is in their hands.
"Our dream was to be in the situation we are in now three months ago. It is now down to us to get over the line," said Wenger, who will take charge of his 900th game against the Canaries on Saturday.
"That looks quite difficult at the moment because we had a few opportunities we didn't take and so we have another opportunity tomorrow which we want to take.
"The team is focused and ready to do the job, it's now for us to get over the line."
Advantage
He continued: "It is still open, but the advantage we have on the other teams is that we have our destiny in our own hands because we are one point ahead.
"We are in the driving seat, it depends only on our results and that is what you want when you are a top-level professional football player or at a top-level club - you don't want to depend on the results of others."
Many expected Norwich to struggle on their return to the top flight, but Paul Lambert's men head into their final two matches already safe from the relegation dogfight.
The Canaries may have been beaten 3-0 at home by Liverpool in their last outing, which was a third straight defeat, but Wenger warned against complacency.
"I expect them to play at their best because it would be absolutely non-intelligent from us to expect a team to play a little bit softer. That would not be very professional," said the Arsenal boss.
"Norwich came into this league with relatively unknown players, but what is fantastic in this job is that it is not about names, it is about performances. They have done remarkably well."
