Arsenal vs. Norwich: Arsene Wenger Will Be Vindicated with Win Against Canaries

If you can believe it, a win against Norwich City on Saturday will get Arsenal back into the top four.

This season has perhaps been Arsene Wenger's most difficult since taking over as the club's manager. As the Gunners move further and further away from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, Champions League qualification has become the minimum expectation.

Losing out on that competition next season could prove to be disastrous for Arsenal as it would lose the revenue from European matches. If that's not enough, current players would have even less motivation to think the team will be able to compete for trophies, while prospective players might not be attracted to Arsenal should it fail to have Champions League football.

It's a doomsday scenario the club's supporters have likely been planning for most of the season.

Those worries could prove to be premature, though. Arsenal is only two points behind Tottenham Hotspur for the fourth spot and has a game in hand. A win would put the Gunners a point clear of Spurs.

The run-in is a bit tough for the club, but should it get into the top four now, it's hard to see it leaving. A date with Manchester United looms, but there are also matches with Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle, Wigan and Fulham. That should be nine points easy right there for Arsenal.

Supporters are right to demand Arsenal be competitive for trophies, but to a certain extent, you have to give credit to Wenger should he be able to keep the club in the Champions League.

The Frenchman was able to exploit market inefficiencies early in his tenure. In addition, the club wasn't afraid to spend money. The likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, David Platt, Marc Overmars, Robert Pires, Sylvain Wiltord, Francis Jeffers, etc. didn't come cheap, especially considering inflation.

Unfortunately for the club, transfer prices have inflated, and other clubs have taken all the strategies that made Arsenal so successful. The same market inefficiencies aren't there to be exploited.

Valencia was in much the same position as Arsenal as it is continually forced to sell its best players. The club has a definite glass ceiling with Barcelona and Real Madrid casting a large shadow. Supporters were fed up with the lack of advancement under Unai Emery as Valencia continued to finish third. Emery left, and Valencia now sits in fifth position. Champions League football is not the certainty it once was.

You could very well see the same scenario with Arsenal. Wenger has become a victim of his own success.

But every time you doubt that he can deliver Champions League football, Wenger continues to get the club into the top four. Wenger was roundly criticized when he mentioned qualifying for the Champions League was a trophy in and of itself.

While winning the FA Cup and getting into Europe are two different things, there's a certain validity to what Wenger says. In today's football, the financial and reputation gains stemming from the Champions League are much greater than winning a domestic tournament.

Like him or not at this stage, there are few managers who would be as consistent as Wenger in getting Arsenal into the top four. As low as this season has gotten for Gunners supporters, a win against Norwich would be a massive step for Wenger.