Wenger insists lower points total will secure title success

ARSENAL’S hopes of closing to within a point of leaders Chelsea may have been frustrated by the weather last night but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has predicted that less could prove more in this season’s title race.

Arsenal’s clash with Bolton at the Emirates Stadium was the latest game to fall victim to the weather last night but Wenger believes his team are on course to pick up between 78 and 83 points, a tally that in previous years might not have been good enough to even secure second spot but one which the Frenchman believes will be sufficient to win the league this season.

The last six championship-winning sides have mustered an average of 90.3 points, ranging from Chelsea’s 95 in 2004/05 to Manchester United’s 87 in 2007/08.

And none of those teams lost more than five games in the process.

This season has followed a different trend however.

The likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham are challenging for Champions League places and the traditional ‘Big Four’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have already lost more games than they did throughout the whole of last term.

It has made for a captivating Premier League campaign and Wenger expects more of the same between now and May.

“I said a few months ago that 78 to 83 points would win the title and I stick by that,” he said.

“If you multiply the current numbers [points totals] by two then you will not be far from that. Chelsea have played 20 games and have 45 points, we have played 19 games and have 41 points. If you multiply that by two it’s 82 points. The champions will be around there with 82, 83, 84 (points).

“Don’t forget we all have to play each other again. Nobody will run away with it and get 19 wins.

“At the moment there are six or seven teams who could play in the top four and they will all play each other. That means everybody will drop points.”

However the postponement of last night’s game means the Gunners will now have to find another date in a crowded fixture list to play Bolton.

The pitch at the Emirates was playable but heavy snowfall yesterday made conditions outside the ground hazardous and forced officials to postpone the match on safety grounds.

The fixture had already been rearranged from earlier in the season and no new date has yet been announced for the match.

A statement from Arsenal read: “Despite making every effort to stage tonight’s match against Bolton Wanderers, the sudden and unpredicted adverse change in weather conditions in the Highbury area has left us no choice but to postpone the fixture.

“We apologise for any inconvenience and wish to state that this decision was not made lightly and supporters’ safety and travel arrangements were major factors in our thinking.

“The club will announce the revised date for this match in due course and all tickets currently held will be valid for the rearranged fixture.”

Last night’s match was the third high-profile fixture to fall victim of the weather this week, with both Carling Cup semi-final first legs, featuring Blackburn against Aston Villa, and Manchester City against Manchester United, postponed.

Meanwhile La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed the club are interested in bringing Arsenal midfielder Fran Merida back to Spain.