Unai Emery says Arsenal can forget the top four he's losing against Chelsea | Soccer

Unai Emery admits that Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via the Premier League will be exhausted if they lose to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The Arsenal coach continues to lament Saturday's 1-0 defeat at West Ham – his team's third loss in six league games – and this gives him the impression of being a clash. Another setback could leave Arsenal nine points on the top four by the end of the weekend, with Tottenham playing at Fulham on Sunday.

Arsenal remain alive in Europa League, where they have been forced to face Bate Borisov in the last 32 months. The winners of the competition will be awarded a place in the Champions League next season.

Emery was asked if nine points out of the top four would be too big a gap. "I think so," he replied. "After losing to West Ham, the difference is six points behind Chelsea instead of three. The opportunity we have now against Chelsea is not the same, but if we win, we will have the opportunity to approach it. "

Emery knows where the main threat from Chelsea will come from. When he was at Paris St-Germain, the French club was tied to a move for Eden Hazard and Emery put Chelsea's winger among the best of the match.

"With a player like Hazard, all the major teams in the world generally think of the possibility of trying to sign them," Emery said. "He is among the top five players in the world. He made the difference in many games. "

Emery switched between the three- and four-system systems and he thinks it offers a wealth of options. "I think the best opportunity for us, when we can not control the game the way we want it, is sometimes to use three central defenders," he said. "But at other times we have to play with the backs, because we have to control a different situation, with more players in the middle of the field."