Wenger sets title target

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes they will win the Premier League title if they win their last five games.

The Gunners have slipped down to third place, six points behind leaders Manchester United after drawing their last two games against Liverpool and Tottenham.

Despite their recent slip-ups, Wenger believes the title remains within their grasp if they can win all their remaining games, including next weekend’s showdown with United

Convinced

“If we win our five games, we’ll win the championship. I’m convinced”
Arsene Wenger on title challenge Quotes of the week

“I have no doubt we can win our five games,” insisted Wenger. “We have a good basis because we are consistent. We have played 16 games without losing. What I feel is most important is to keep the belief and win.

“If we win our five games, we’ll win the championship. I’m convinced. But the target is to win the next one for now. This championship will go to the most solid team mentally, not necessarily to anybody else.

“I believe that the mental part, the belief, is the most important thing to have now in the last five games. Let’s have that in the next game.”

Wenger also ridiculed Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech’s claim that Arsenal had blown their title chances in recent weeks.

Cech had suggested Arsenal lacked the mental strength to win the championship, feeling Chelsea are now the biggest threat to United after leapfrogging the Gunners in the table.

However, Wenger says he cannot understand Cech’s argument with both sides level on points in the table.

Logic

“I’m quite open to everything, but mathematically – and I was not too bad in maths – it’s difficult to understand the logic of his statement,” added Wenger.

“Mathematically, I can’t see a difference given they have the same number of points. We have to win all our games, add a winning mentality to the drawing mentality.

“Frankly, we were 1-0 up in the 97th minute against Liverpool, so it’s difficult to say you can predict what would happen in the 98th minute. You can never legislate as to what will happen. You can just produce excellent performances.”