- Premier League
Title bid not realistic - Wenger
Arsene Wenger has conceded Arsenal have a mountain to climb if they are to win the Premier League, admitting that it is "not realistic" to claim they will finish top of the table.
The Gunners' 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday - their fourth loss in the league this season - has left Wenger's men 15th in the table. With Manchester rivals United and City leading the way on 19 points - 12 ahead of Arsenal - Wenger is already realigning the club's goals this season, with winning the title now an unlikely prospect.
When asked about Arsenal's title hopes, Wenger told the club's official website: "I do not think like that, I think at the moment we have to set ourselves a realistic target and to get in touch with the teams who are fighting for the Champions League positions. If you say today we will win the league it is not realistic.
"At the moment we are 12 points behind Manchester United and Manchester City - that's not realistic to say today that we will win the league. We have to fight to come back into a much better position, that's reality."
Defensive fragilities have become evident throughout the early part of the season, with Arsenal conceding 14 league goals on the road alone. And, with confidence so low at the back, Wenger admits his players must quickly recover their poise.
"It is two steps forward and one step back, it is exactly that," said Wenger. "Sunday was a game we could have come out of with a point but it [our inconsistent form] is down as well to a lack of confidence.
"We will come back because you could see again that there is a strong spirit in the team. But we have to become a bit more realistic and do our job better in certain situations. I felt on Sunday that defensively we are becoming stronger. But we lost the ball from good positions in the final third so we could have done better with our passing."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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Premier League 2020/21
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | +51 | 86 |
| 2 | Man United | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | +29 | 74 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | +26 | 69 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | +22 | 67 |
| 5 | Leicester | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | +18 | 66 |
| 6 | West Ham | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | +15 | 65 |
| 7 | Tottenham | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | +23 | 62 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | +16 | 61 |
| 9 | Leeds | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | +8 | 59 |
| 10 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | -1 | 59 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | +9 | 55 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -16 | 45 |
| 13 | Wolves | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -16 | 45 |
| 14 | Crystal Pal | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | -25 | 44 |
| 15 | Southampton | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | -21 | 43 |
| 16 | Brighton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -6 | 41 |
| 17 | Burnley | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -22 | 39 |
| 18 | Fulham | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | -26 | 28 |
| 19 | West Brom | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | -41 | 26 |
| 20 | Sheff United | 38 | 7 | 2 | 29 | -43 | 23 |
