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Van Persie: Optimistic
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Arsenal star Robin van Persie insists the destiny of the Premier League title remains in their own hands.
The Gunners slipped to five points behind league leaders Manchester United over the weekend after being held to a 2-2 draw at West Brom.
Arsenal have endured a miserable spell lately after crashing out of the Champions League and FA Cup, and losing to Birmingham in the final of the Carling Cup in heartbreaking fashion.
However, Van Persie is confident they can use the recent disappointments to push them all the way in the title race.
The Dutchman believes going out of the Champions League and FA Cup could be a blessing in disguise as it means Arsenal can focus all their efforts on the championship.
Advantage
“It is a real blow that we threw away three trophies within the space of only three weeks,” said Van Persie. “However, we still have another big objective and that is winning the Premier League title.
“We are five points behind Manchester United but have a game in hand, so we can narrow the gap to two points.
“It is actually an advantage that we are no longer active in other competitions, so we won’t get distracted.
“We still have everything in our own hands and will do our utmost to win the league title, even though we have been dealt a few big blows in recent weeks.”
Van Persie is keen to forget Arsenal’s recent woes and he hopes they can learn from the devastating Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham.
Injustice
“This is football. I don’t feel like our loss was an injustice. These kinds of things are all part of the game,” added van Persie.
“Birmingham beat us in the final, but then lost the following four league games. The Premier League has been absolutely crazy this year.
“I hope that we learned something from the lost final, but you never know whether you actually did.
“When something goes wrong the first time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will go better the next time.”
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