Published: 27 March 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

WITH the Gunners preparing to entertain title “favourites” Manchester City on Saturday evening it seems Arsene Wenger has turned his atten­tions to the all too familiar hunting ground of securing a top four finish.

This time last week Arsenal were still considered to be among the championship chasers, but Saturday’s 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea followed by the frustrating 2-2 draw against Swansea on Tuesday has forced the Frenchman to reconsider his goals in the remaining seven games.

Quizzed about his team’s chances of winning the Premier League, Wenger said: “I think at the moment it is not the biggest worry we have. We have to be realistic and try to come back a bit in our next game against Manchester City.

“It will be open until the end and you can still have surprises as well. Man City had a good result against United, they look a bit unstoppable. They are favourites as they have two games in hand, them and Chelsea are favourites now for the title.

“We have not too much room to come back into it, but we have to get some players back. It is difficult to fight with half the team out.”

Having key players missing isn’t, however, a good enough excuse for everyone. Club captain Thomas Vermaelen believes the Gunners have the strength in depth to deal with an injury list that includes Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and now Laurent Koscielny. “I don’t think that injuries are an excuse,” he said. “Of course we’re missing players, important players as well. But we’ve got a big squad with good players so that shouldn’t be the reason.”