Supercomputer predicts Premier League top 4 after Mikel Arteta's Arsenal seal Champions League spot
A supercomputer has predicted the Premier League top four after Arsenal sealed UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.
Despite going on a four-game winless run in the league, the Gunners are assured of a top-four finish this season. They will, of course, harbor bigger ambitions than that, as they aim to win the Premier League for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
Arsenal lead the league with 75 points from 33 games, but second-placed Manchester City are just two points behind and have two games in hand. According to data collected by ABC News' FiveThirtyEight, via OneFootball, the Cityzens' chances of finishing in the top four are above 99%.
They're almost guaranteed to play in the competition next season. Newcastle United and Manchester United have a 94% and 86% chance of making the top four, respectively.
Liverpool still have an outside chance of finishing in the Champions League spots - 14% - if the supercomputer's prediction is to be trusted. Brighton & Hove Albion (5%) and Aston Villa (1%) are next on the list, while Tottenham Hotspur have been handed less than a 1% chance of making the top four.
The Magpies have 62 points from 32 games and lead fourth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand, by two points. Both Aston Villa and Tottenham, meanwhile, have 54 points from 33 games.
Liverpool have 53 points from 32 games but could trail Brighton by two points if the Seagulls win both their games in hand.
Arteta has no qualms with Manchester City's dominant Premier League win against Arsenal
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has said that Manchester City thoroughly deserved their 4-1 Premier League win against Arsenal on Wednesday (April 26).
The Cityzens scored at both ends of the first half to end the first 45 minutes with a 2-0 lead. Kevin De Bruyne doubled his tally in the 54th minute before Rob Holding pulled one back four minutes before the 90-minute mark.
After missing a few chances earlier in the game, Erling Haaland scored his 33rd Premier League goal of the season in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Arteta had no qualms admitting that his team were second-best (via the club's website):
"Just to accept the reality - that’s the best way to move forward. Accept that today they were better than us, that they deserved to win the game, that we never had a chance to win the game and that we have to improve, be better and be humble enough to accept that."
City kept 52% possession and managed nine shots on target, compared to Arsenal's two.