Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal should be encouraged by an attack-minded performance against Manchester City and maintains all is not lost in their quest to win the Premier League title.
After leading the way for the majority of the season, the Gunners will slip back into second place on Wednesday night should Pep Guardioala’s men complete what is expected to be a routine win against Burnley.
Defeat at the Etihad on Sunday represented a fourth successive domestic defeat and added more weight to the fears that the wheels are coming off just as the finishing line zooms into view.
Wenger, however, was heartened by the attacking intent his old club displayed against City and has urged Mikel Arteta to take the shackles off over the course of the run-in.
With City still facing difficult fixtures at Bournemouth and Everton, the legendary former Arsenal manager is far from convinced Arsenal’s title rivals will win all of their remaining games and urged the Gunners to make sure they are in a position to capitalise
‘I believe that Arsenal will win the league,’ Wenger said speaking at an Abbey Road Studios fund-raiser for ProjectTwinning.
‘I deeply believe. It looks, to me, like commonsense. I like Eze, Odegaard, Havertz and Madueke attacking (intent at the Etihad). Manchester City will not make the perfect run-in.’
Wenger won three Premier League titles during his trophy-laden Arsenal managerial reigned that spanned 22-years.
Asked if he missed the heat of the battle and intensity of the rivalry he shared with Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, he added: ‘I miss it every day.
‘I managed for 40 years. I miss the grass, the contact, the communication.” Wenger emphasised he always looked forward.
‘My luck in life (is) I was never attached to the past.’
With a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid also on the horizon, there remains the possibility of a glorious end to the season, despite the recent setbacks that also included a shock FA Cup defeat at Southampton and a limp display in the Carabao Cup final.
Arsenal are back in action against Newcastle on Saturday evening when they could open up a three-point lead with City in FA Cup action at Wembley.
‘It’s a really disappointing result, and the manner that it happened,’ Arteta said after a gutting 2-1 defeat against the new title favourties.
‘We had a really strong performance, got so much into the game, we came back from a goal down.
‘Emotionally, we handled the game so well, and had the game where we wanted it. We had the best chances of the game, didn’t put them away, and that was the difference.”
Asked whether the missed chances made the result harder to take, or gave him reason to be optimistic, he said: ‘A bit of both, because we created big situations against a team that concedes very little, and we’ve gone into it the right way.
‘But at the end, to win or not win is about moments, and when they had moments, they put them in the back of the net and that was the difference.
‘We lost an opportunity today to win, I think we used the opportunity to show what we are made of, and how we’re going to compete and the level of the team.
‘Now we have another five to go, so it’s a new Premier League now, they have a game in hand and we have three points in hand – so, game on.’