• Premier League

City looked jaded against Chelsea - Wenger

Arsene Wenger says Manchester City looked "jaded" in their Premier League defeat to "dangerous" Chelsea on Monday - and as a result believes it is impossible to predict who will emerge victorious in this season's title race.

City have long been hailed as favourites by the odds makers, but the comprehensive nature of their defeat against Jose Mourinho's Blues has inspired many to reconsider that assessment.

Wenger v Mourinho in battle for the big guns

Bayern Munich's Mario Mandzukic is a wanted man by both clubs © Getty Images

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Now Wenger has suggested his Gunners are very much in the mix to challenge for the title, as they find themselves two points clear at the top with just 14 games left to play.

"[The title race] is never as simple as everyone predicts it," Wenger told the Arsenal website. "I said a long time ago that nobody will be absolutely above [the others]. It will be down to consistency.

"Chelsea always looked dangerous and City looked for me a bit jaded. They were not as fluent or as strong physically as they were at Tottenham, but it could have gone to 1-1, or it could have gone 2-0 for Chelsea.

"At the end of the day, [Chelsea] had 65 percent possession with 25 shots on goal so sometimes that can be a 1-1 [draw], but I must say Chelsea had opportunities for 2-0 as well."

Arsenal face a trip to take on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday and with games against Manchester United and Bayern Munich also on his horizon, he accepts his side are set to face a defining month in their trophy hopes.

"This is the period - January, February, March - where every game is a battle for everybody because everybody fights for something," he added.

"We have to look at it as a challenge and play with the serene attitude we have shown and the intelligence as well. You have to look at this period as one game at a time and do not consider too far ahead."

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