Second spot’s what Gunners are aiming for

Chelsea may have wrapped up the Premiership title but there is still plenty to play for at the top, as well as the bottom of the division &#...

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Chelsea may have wrapped up the Premiership title but there is still plenty to play for at the top, as well as the bottom of the division — and Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp knows that better than most. The Gunners are currently second, four points ahead of Man United, with the league runners-up guaranteed direct entry into next season’s Champions League.

Finishing third means having to play a pre-season qualifying match, which could scupper the north London club’s hopes of landing European club football’s biggest prize before the tournament proper has got underway. “If you finish third, you have to play such an important game so early in the season,’’ Bergkamp said.

“So it can really hurt you and frustrate you. If you can get automatically qualified, it’s better for the whole club,” the Dutch striker said ahead of Sunday’s match at home to Champions League finalists Liverpool. Arsenal will again be without injured duo Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg through injury, while Sol Campbell still faces a battle to regain his first-team place.

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Bergkamp, meanwhile, will be hoping for a recall to the side, in what is Sunday’s lone Premiership match, although compatriot Robin van Persie impressed in Monday’s win at West Brom.

Liverpool, meanwhile, must raise their game after their midweek Champions League heroics against Chelsea took them into the May 25 final in Istanbul against Italy’s AC Milan. Throughout the season Liverpool, fifth and three points behind local rivals Everton, have struggled to maintain their form in the Premiership immediately after a Champions League game.

And with the FA declaring that, regardless of whether Liverpool win the tournament, it will only allow the top four clubs in the Premiership to compete in next season’s Champions League, the Anfield club badly need a win.

SATURDAY’S KEY MATCHES

		Chelsea vs Charlton Notable only for the fact that Chelsea will be presented with the Premiership trophy, their first league title in 50 years Palace vs Southampton The day’s most crucial match, as both clubs battle to avoid the drop. Southampton are ahead of Palace on goal difference but with a home game to come against Manchester United they know three points are vital. Portsmouth vs Bolton Victory will guarantee Bolton European football for the first time and could keep alive their slim hopes of appearing in next season’s Champions League Man United v West Brom United must win to keep the pressure on Arsenal for the runners-up spot and avoid a Champions League qualifying round, while defeat for West Brom could condemn them to relegation. A tough match for United’s former ‘Captain Marvel’ Bryan Robson, now West Brom manager