Arsenal 'Can't Speak About the Top 4' After Recent Defeats, Says Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka said Arsenal do not deserve to talk about finishing the 2018-19 Premier League season in the top four after they lost a third consecutive game at Leicester City on Sunday. 

The Swiss midfielder also conceded the UEFA Europa League is now the Gunners' best route to playing UEFA Champions League football next season—they play Valencia in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday.

Arsenal's 10 men were beaten 3-0 by the Foxes at the King Power Stadium for their third defeat in eight days after losses against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.

Remarkably, due to similarly poor results from rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal are still in with a chance of making the top four:

But Xhaka did not sound confident after the loss to Leicester, per Sky Sports:

"It is not the right moment to think about the top four. We had three big chances. It started with Crystal Palace, then Wednesday against Wolves and finished (on Sunday). If you don't take from two away games and one at home three points, you can't speak about the top four.

"If we are in the semi-final [of the Europa League] then of course. We have two games in front of the final. I know anything can happen but if you are three games from the title you have to think positive."

Xhaka, 26, also added it is "difficult to explain" why Arsenal's form is so much worse away from home than it is at the Emirates Stadium. 

Sunday's defeat to Leicester was their eighth on the road in the league this season, and they have won just two of their last 12 away games in the English top flight.

As such, the chances of Arsenal earning maximum points from their final two games of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign seem low given they travel to Burnley on the final day of the season.

Arguably Arsenal's best recent performance on the road was in the quarter-finals of the Europa League when they beat Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio San Paolo (U.S. only):

The Gunners host Valencia in the first leg of the semi-finals, giving them a chance to establish a decent lead before they go to the Mestalla Stadium a week later.