Wenger warns against thinking too far ahead

Arsene Wenger warned Arsenal must concentrate on delivering another performance at QPR today rather than harbour hopes of overhauling Manchester City to claim second place.

The Gunners have recorded seven straight wins in the Premier League to climb up into third place above Tottenham.

City head to the Emirates Stadium on Easter Sunday, and then host current leaders Manchester United on April 30.

Mathematically, if Arsenal were to win all their remaining eight games and City buckle under the pressure, the current 12-point gap could be eaten up.

Wenger though, wants his rejuvenated squad to just concentrate fully on the job in hand at Loftus Road.

“I see us fighting tomorrow like mad to win the game. That is all I see, I don’t see further,” the Arsenal boss, who was yesterday handed a three-match UEFA touchline ban and fined €40,000 for improper conduct in the Champions League defeat to AC Milan, said.

“We are focused on QPR, believe me. We know that is always a tricky game for everybody and that is what is important to us.

“After that we focus on the next one and our capability to finish the season in a strong way depends on just how much we focus on every game.”

Given the way Spurs saw their own advantage over the Gunners crumble, Wenger accepts things can change “very quickly” in a short space of time.

Wenger added: “Our sport is fragile and we have learned something this season from a very difficult period. Urgency and focus are vital to keep your level up.

“What we can hope for is to be third.

“We can be fourth, we can be fifth, we can be sixth, we want to be as high as possible and that depends on our consistency now.

“We are in a position that nobody expected us to be in and we want to strengthen that position from now on. That depends on our performances.”

Wenger added: “If you look at our results since October, we have consistency — apart from in January when we lost three games. That was a bad period, but apart from that the attitude and the consistency has been quite good.”

Wenger is expecting a stern test today from a battling QPR side who recovered from 2-0 down with 15 minutes left to beat Liverpool in their last home game.

He said: “QPR is a side which has quality players and is in a difficult situation.

“Certainly you expect them to fight not to go down, but I believe the key will be on our side — no matter what QPR’s quality is, it will be important for us to go out and show how much we want another win.”