Arsene Wenger: Arsenal must ‘defy the odds’

Arsene Wenger admits his Arsenal side must “defy the odds” if they are to rescue their faltering Premier League title hopes.

The Gunners host Swansea this evening knowing they can ill afford to drop points as they look to stay in the race for the title, having lost to Manchester United 3-2 on Sunday.

With their Champions League hopes looking bleak after their 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona, Wenger knows there is no more room for slip-ups.

“What we want to do is defy all the odds that are against us at the moment,” Wenger said yesterday. “The best way to do it is to fight together for that. We have come out of a bad week so we want to have a good week now.

“We are professional and we want to focus on how we respond to the defeat. It can happen. We lost 3-2 at Manchester United, we are not happy with the result but if you analyse the game we had two lapses of focus that we paid for. That made the game difficult for us after.

“We gave a lot against Barcelona and the disappointing outcome certainly had an impact on our belief against Manchester United, but we want to focus on the positives and recover from it. We want to give our best from now until the end of the season.”

Wenger may need a change of fortunes immediately, but the news isn’t good on the injury front.

Santi Cazorla faces missing the rest of the season after Arsene Wenger revealed the Arsenal midfielder has suffered an Achilles problem.

The Spain international has been out since November with a knee injury but now has an issue with tendonitis which could yet rule him out for the rest of the campaign.

The Gunners have struggled with Cazorla on the sidelines and are five points off the top of the Premier League table after Sunday’s defeat at Manchester United.

It was initially hoped the 31-year-old would be back at some point in March but – ahead of tonight’s game with Swansea – Wenger gave a fresh prognosis on Cazorla.

“Santi is not doing too well,” he said.

“He has some Achilles problems that hold him back. His knee is doing well but his Achilles has inflamed a little bit and we have to put him off impact.

Asked if he is now set to return in April, Wenger replied: “We have to see now how he responds. He had always a little tendonitis on his Achilles and we have to see how he responds to that.”

Another player whose involvement over the rest of the season is now in doubt is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will not require surgery on his knee but “will be out for six for eight weeks”, Wenger said.

Fellow midfielder Jack Wilshere is still looking at a minimum of three weeks before making his own long-awaited return having not played this season due to a broken fibula. Wenger confirmed he has not started training with the squad as of yet.

With experienced campaigners Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky also out, Wenger’s options in the middle of the park are limited.

Wenger has hinted he will make changes for the visit of the struggling Swans.

Danny Welbeck will likely be among the substitutes as he works his way back to full fitness, while Per Mertesacker could return in defence after Gabriel was out-foxed by United’s young striker Marcus Rashford on Sunday.

The Frenchman has come in for criticism in recent days after the Old Trafford defeat saw Arsenal suffer a setback in the race for their first league title in 12 years.

But the 66-year-old insists he has become immune to those who have derided both him and his team having been in the job for two decades.

“We live in a society where the excess is permanent but when the excess is permanent it becomes ineffective,” he said.

“You become immune to it. In life you have to focus on what can influence your life. People are entitled to their opinion but what can influence my life and the life of the club is putting a good performance on.

“Football is a pleasure. We should not forget that. Football is fantastic as well because it’s unpredictable and not mathematical. We have to accept that it’s like that and that it is fantastic like that.”

Leicester top the table while Arsenal’s fierce local rivals Tottenham are second ahead of the north London derby at the weekend.

Wenger said his side will scrap for the championship but will happily shake hands with the winners come May.

“Let’s fight with them,” he added.

“I’ve fought for that idea for years, that football is unpredictable and teams like Leicester can come in to the top four.

“At the end of the day let’s fight with them. If on the last day of the season they are in front of us, we congratulate them and say well done.

“They can also be behind us so let’s fight, and hope they are behind us.”