Wenger remains defiant

LONDON. — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refuses to concede defeat in the race for the Barclays English Premier League soccer title and expects more twists before the season is over.
The Gunners were beaten 6-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Saturday and followed up that disappointment with a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City, with Mathieu Flamini’s late own goal denying the side all three points.

The result means that the North Londoners no longer have fourth place in their own hands, with Everton capable of passing them, but the manager still believes Arsenal can top the table come May.

“It’s all to go for, I think, for everybody,” Wenger told the club’s official website.
“Everybody speaks about Everton coming back on us (to challenge for fourth place). Why should we, then, not come back on the teams who are in front of us?

“There’s still a lot of turning games that will happen until the end of the season but it’s down to the quality of our performances. We don’t think about the title race now, we think about winning again and [the latest results] show you how small the differences are between the Premier League teams.

“You see (Wednesday) night with Liverpool and Sunderland. You can see how big the mental blow is when you lose a big game — (for example) Real Madrid lost against Barcelona and they lost again (on Wednesday to Sevilla) — so for us just to recover in a positive way against Swansea was very important.

“Now, from that game, (let’s) be positive again and win the next one.”
Arsenal faces free-scoring Manchester City today, looking to make up ground on Manuel Pellegrini’s men, who netted six times against the Gunners in the reverse fixture.

And Wenger says Arsenal’s performance against Manchester City will show they have not given up on winning the Premier League.
Arsenal go into this weekend’s game now 100-1 outsiders for the title in the wake of a 6-0 hammering at Chelsea and Tuesday’s failure to beat Swansea.

That 2-2 draw in midweek means fifth-placed Everton are now just six points behind with a game in hand and a home fixture against Arsenal to come next week.

But Wenger remains entirely focused on bridging another six-point gap — to leaders Chelsea — in the remaining seven games.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the City game he said: “There is no other priority other than coming first – that is still our target.

“If people say Everton can catch us then we can catch the teams above us. We have not given up believe me. It’s our attitude tomorrow (today) which will show that.”

Arsenal were beaten 6-3 at the Etihad in December but have not lost a league game at home since the opening day of the season, and Wenger said: “We play at the Emirates where we show big strengths and we want to show that again.

“There are plenty of positives to take from the game at the Etihad. But of course we must defend better.
“It will be down to the quality of our collective defending tomorrow. We have to keep going despite our negative results.”

Wenger was asked about criticism from former Manchester United player Paul Scholes, who this week said Arsenal are “a million miles away” from winning the title.

He said: “If six points is a million miles away…I don’t know what the translation of a mile into a point is. People who have managed zero games have opinions and we have to accept that.”

Wenger has now managed more than 1 000 at Arsenal, but he is yet to commit publicly to extending his contract beyond the end of the season.
Recent setbacks, and his decision to cancel a press conference ahead of the Swansea game, led to speculation he could yet decide to leave this summer.

But senior figures at the club have consistently said the manager will sign a new deal, and Wenger said: “My commitment is not questionable. I have given my word, and I always respect my word.”

Bacary Sagna’s contract is also up this summer, and Inter’s president this week claimed the right-back has decided to stay in England.
That prompted reports linking Sagna with Manchester City, but Wenger said: “I’m confident he will stay, but we will accept his decision and go with it.” — Goal.com-Sky Sports.