Arsene Wenger sends warning to Arsenal over Premier League title pursuit
By Tom Gott
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned the Gunners that they may never have a better chance to end their Premier League title drought than this season.
With the majority of the league's heavy hitters struggling for form, Arsenal and Manchester City are the only two sides accepted to be in genuine contention for the trophy, with Manchester United the next closest to joining the race.
City, the defending champions, have been below par as well, while Arsenal are enjoying their best season in years, leading the table after 21 games.
It's been a perfect storm for Arsenal but concerns have crept in in recent weeks with dropped points against Everton and Brentford, and the Gunners could even fall to second if they lose to City on Wednesday - although they would still have a game in hand over Pep Guardiola's side.
Speaking to beIN Sports, Wenger urged Arsenal to keep their eye on the prize and take advantage of the opportunity afforded to them this season.
"You win it when you can win it and you don’t care too much about the rest you take the title and let the rest talk about it," he said.
"I agree the conditions next season won’t be as favourable as they are now so lets not miss this opportunity. Arsenal has 51 points after 21 games which is remarkable.
"I feel the usual threats are all out of the race. The only threat is City and even City is not as dominant as they were last year or two years before and I feel since the start of the season City was more vulnerable defensively than before."
On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, part of the 90min podcast network, Harry Symeou looks back at Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford - a game filled with VAR controversy and more dropped points for the leaders.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
Not since Wenger's Invincibles won the title in 2003/04 have Arsenal got their hands on the Premier League trophy and the Frenchman, who recently returned to the Emirates to watch Mikel Arteta's side in action, admitted he is feeling confident about their chances of glory this season.
"I like what I saw and I like what I felt in the dressing room," he continued. "I feel the team spirit is great the humility and hunger of the young players is absolutely amazing. They are humble and hungry.
"They are good enough, there is always a period when you have not won that the tension comes in like now where you have to deal with it and get over. Maybe it’s not bad to play a team like City now where you have nothing to lose. You are not super favourites against Brentford you are that’s where the tension creeps in."