• Swansea 2-1 Arsenal

Wenger gives up on 'unrealistic' title bid for Arsenal

Arsene Wenger bemoaned his side's failure to win the midfield battle at the Liberty Stadium © Getty Images

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Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal must be "more realistic" about their Premier League title chances after losing 2-1 at Swansea.

Arsenal went ahead through an Alexis Sanchez finish on 63 minutes, but a fine free kick from Glyfi Sigurdsson and a powerful header from Bafetimbi Gomis completed an impressive comeback for Garry Monk's side.

Wenger's men surrendered the lead for the second time in five days following their midweek 3-3 draw against Anderlecht in the Champions League after going 3-0 up, and the defeat at the Liberty Stadium sees Arsenal slip 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

"We have different worries than that [the gap to the top], we lost a game we really shouldn't have lost," Wenger said. "We have to live in the realistic world. In football you have to win the games you can win and today was one. If you want to challenge for the Premier League you have to be a bit more realistic than we were today."

Swansea moved up to fifth in the table following the win while Arsenal dropped down to sixth, and Wenger believes his side's inability to dominate the midfield contest ultimately cost them.

"I think it's difficult to explain how we lost the lead as we were in control and they didn't give up," he added. "I thought we lost some decisive challenges in the middle of the park in the last 20 minutes and we paid for that, and that's where we lost the battle.

"I worry that we conceded the goals. I think we could have won the game before [Swansea's equaliser], but after that, the free kick was a great free kick.

"We lost the ball, we were in control and you can never predict when you lose the ball. We were not in too much trouble [in the first half] and I think we had the best chances. It was a very tactical game. I felt - at 1-0 up - we lacked some spark and killing instinct to win it."

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