Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has blamed the slow start that the Gunners endured for the fact that they are now unlikely to seriously challenge for the Premier League title, reports the Daily Express.
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The Frenchman was speaking ahead of their match against Chelsea on Sunday. If the North London club beat their London rivals then they will close the gap to the league leaders to seven points with five games left in the season. With the Blues having already negotiated a tough game against Manchester United, there aren’t many other opportunities for them to drop points before the campaign finishes.
Wenger believes that the slow start Arsenal endured is the reason behind this massive gap. It has taken eight successive victories to even get as close as they have. However, had the pressure of a title race been on them it is debatable whether the Emirates outfit would have had such a successful second half of the season.
The 65-year-old said: “We dropped points at the start of the season but since January I think we (would be) top of the league. We have the opportunity to show that the improvement is consistent.
“We want to continue to win, strengthen our position at the top of the league – the second position – and we have an opportunity as well to get closer to Chelsea and we want to take it.”