Wenger: City game won’t be decisive

Arsene Wenger says the title race will not be over should Arsenal beat Manchester City tomorrow — but wants his men to focus 100% on delivering the right performance.

Leaders Manchester United could open up an eight-point gap with a home victory over struggling QPR a couple of hours before City kick off at Emirates Stadium.

Blues boss Roberto Mancini feels should his side then lose to the Gunners, it would be almost impossible to overhaul such a deficit in the remaining six games.

Wenger, though, does not believe things can be put so simply.

He said: “It will not be over, but it will make things very, very difficult.

“City will [fight until the last], certainly, but I believe we should wait and see what happens over the weekend.

“Unfortunately we are not involved in the title race and we will let them sort it out between themselves, but at the moment Manchester United have the advantage.”

Wenger insists there can be no thoughts of ending City’s title dreams when his men look to recover from the 2-1 defeat at QPR last weekend, which halted a run of seven straight league wins which saw them climb back up into third place.

“Our job is always to cope with the consequences of the game, but before you just focus on what you want to do well,” he said. “The momentum is still there because in the last eight games we have won seven, so it was an interruption and a disappointment.

“We want to come back to what was our recent level, that means playing well and therefore winning the game.”

Wenger, meanwhile, feels the next few weeks will determine whether Jack Wilshere can play again for Arsenal this season — and also for England at the European Championships.

The 20-year-old has not featured at all for Arsenal because of an ankle injury which required surgery.

Gunners manager Wenger said: “We try to keep the hope alive for him and without taking too many risks.

“That means we adapt day to day, to manage him, to improve his physical state and get him fit as quickly as we can without taking too big a risk, which means when he has pain we stop him.”

On the prospect of Wilshere being involved for England in the summer, Wenger added: “To go to a big competition without having played at all is impossible.

“In the next four or five weeks we will know more and the next three weeks will be decisive [if he can go to the Euros].”