Wenger pours cold water on title prospects

QPR v Arsenal Tonight: Loftus Road, 7.45pm Referee: Kevin Friend Betting: QPR 11/2, Arsenal 9/15 Draw 31/10 Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal side are currently "nowhere near" being involved in the race for the Premier League title — but believes a consistent run could change all that.

The Gunners currently sit third in the Premier League and are nine points adrift of league-leaders Chelsea, with Manchester City four points clear in second spot.

The chase for the top four has closed up in recent weeks with Arsenal likely to come under heavy pressure from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

Wenger takes his side across London to face struggling QPR tonight looking for a seventh win in eight league games but, even with such a strong run of form, Wenger feels a push for the title is not currently feasible.

“At the moment we are nowhere near to winning the Premier League, and nowhere near close to being in the race,” he said.

“But what we want is to do as well as we can without speculating on the weakness of any team.

“The only thing you can say is that it’s very tight.

“You look in front of you, Manchester City are four points ahead of us, and you look behind you, there’s plenty of people chasing us.

“That will be very, very tight and it will be down to consistency in our results and mental strength. That will certainly be needed again on Wednesday night.”

Wenger admits Francis Coquelin’s emergence as a regular in the Arsenal midfield has surprised even himself after he was set to allow the Frenchman to leave the club.

The 23-year-old Coquelin has featured 15 times for the Gunners since being recalled from a loan spell at Charlton in December after Aaron Ramsey suffered a hamstring injury.

His form has seen him not only hold down a place in Wenger’s midfield, but he has also signed a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.

“It is a surprise to everybody,” Wenger said.

“The only thing I do is that I never say never to anybody. In my job you have to be open-minded like that. You have to make decisions at times but never close the door completely for anybody.

“He knows it’s an opportunity for him. Sometimes when you wait for such a long time to get your chance and you get it, the more you have suffered before. The human being is a strange animal.

“Now that he has a chance he doesn’t want to let it slip away. But he is a winner and he wants to win, that’s why he is so committed.”