Even a massive win in the English Premier League over an Aston Villa side struggling to avoid relegation will not lift the sombre mood at Arsenal; but it will certainly be a start.
Arsenal could not have asked for a more tortuous last seven days. Losing to Blackburn in F.A. Cup fifth round was followed by the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, which truly showed how far Arsenal have fallen over the past few years.
This is not the Arsenal of old, everyone knew that. But Bayern showed exactly how much Arsene Wenger's side lack in quality, when they eased to victory at the Emirates, without even really getting out of second gear.
Calls have been growing for Wenger to step down and end his 16-year reign, in which the last eight have been barren. A top-four place, as much as Wenger might want to say otherwise, is not like winning a trophy, and even that looks unlikely with the form that Tottenham are showing in the league.
"We had two accidents in the last two games," Wenger told the club's official website. "We (must not let this) affect our run in the Premier League, where our future at the top level is vital.
"We play for the future, for our team at the top and to come as close to Manchester United as possible. That's the target that we want to achieve now.
Not really a target that Arsenal fans would have been ready to accept at the beginning of the season; but unfortunately for the fans, who pay the highest ticket prices in the land, that is the reality of the situation at the moment.
"We cannot drop points," Wenger added. "With the battle we have in front of us, it's important to recover quickly and we are conscious that, instead of feeling sorry (for ourselves).
"We must focus on what we want to achieve and be ready for a fight."
A win against Villa will bring Arsenal to within one point of Spurs for that battle for a top-four place - Tottenham are scheduled to play only on Monday, in a London Derby at West Ham.
A mere win won't do against Villa. The Arsenal players need to show that they can compete at the top and they do have that ruthless streak, so necessary for top teams.
The loss against Bayern would have been more mentally draining than physically, but do not expect Wenger to rest any of his first-team players and make the same mistake he did against Blackburn.
Along with Kieran Gibbs, who continues his recovery from a thigh tear, Bacary Sagna has been ruled out, after the French fullback picked up a knee injury in midweek.
That means Carl Jenkinson will slot in, and the youngster will be hoping for a better performance than the one against Sunderland a couple of weeks back, where he put his team under tremendous pressure after needlessly getting sent off.
Nacho Monreal, who was cup-tied for the Champions League, will also return, meaning one of Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker will miss out - two of those three will need to be at their best to keep out the in-form Christian Benteke, who will no doubt look to impress against the team he supported as a boy.
Arsenal need this win more than anything to get some semblance of hope back into the confines of the Emirates, as the now familiar battle for a mere top-four spot reaches its business end.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Szczesny; Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Monreal; Arteta, Wilshere; Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski; Giroud.
Aston Villa: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker; Weimann, Westwood, Delph, Bowery, N'Zogbia; Benteke.
Prediction: 4-1 to Arsenal
