Arsene Wenger has admitted that 'nobody is capable of challenging' Chelsea and that Arsenal's title bid is over after just 11 games. The Gunners are 12 points behind Chelsea following Sunday's 2-1 loss at Swansea and it appears that Arsene has thrown in the towel already.
Alexis Sanchez had put Arsenal ahead but, they were unable to hold onto a lead for the second time in a week following the 3-3 draw with Anderlecht. Arsene's lack of defensive tactics were exposed again as the draw with Anderlecht seemed to play apart in the players minds. At times while the team were 1-0 up, the players still pilled forward in search of a second instead of protecting the lead they had.
When speaking after the game of his teams chances in the title race, Wenger was very blunt, admitting that 'nobody' will catch Chelsea.
"Look at the number of points they (Chelsea) have today and if they keep that up nobody will touch them, that's for sure"
Wenger now believes that Arsenal must be 'more realistic' about his sides title chances, "We have different worries than that (the 12 point gap), we lost a game we really shouldn't have lost. We have to live in the realistic world." These comments seem to have gone down rather poorly with certain fans as a protest against Wenger has been organised for a future home game.
It all seems to be going wrong for the Frenchman at the moment, with certain players who are crucial to the team are either injured or out of form. The reaction from Mathieu Flamini after he was substituted against Swansea shows there is a hint of players being unsettled in the dressing room, Flamini stormed off straight down the tunnel showing his frustrations at the clubs inability to defend cohesively.
After the international break, Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United visit The Emirates in a must win game to try and claw back some lost points in the race for the top four. With the likes of Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Debuchy all still to come back, there is still hope for a successful season ahead for Arsenal, and with this visit of Manchester United, a chance to restore some pride amongst the fans who have suffered in recent weeks.
With the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United all struggling this season, the top four is still Arsenal's most realistic target this season. The fight for the top four is all too familiar for Arsene and that is something he cannot give up on, or he will risk losing it all.