Arsene Wenger has admitted that Chelsea are clear favorites to win the title from here on but believes it is still possible to stop them from doing so.
The French boss also praised the Stamford Bridge club for their impressive winning streak which is just one short of the Gunners run of 13 consecutive wins set more than a decade ago.
Arsenal’s London rivals are currently on a spectacular run of consecutive 12 leagues and have collected maximum points from all their matches since the North London club hammered them 3-0 in the league on September 24th and have established themselves as the team to beat in the race for the title.
They now sit nine points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the table heading into the weekend clash with Stoke where they have a chance to equal the Gunners long-standing record.
Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace, Wenger has conceded that Chelsea are certainly in the driving seat this season at this stage but remains optimistic that they can be caught as he feels it’s still a long way to go.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference Wenger explains:
“At the moment Chelsea are the super-favourites because they are quite big and made a big difference.”
“But it is theirs to lose as we say here in England. They can still lose it, at the moment they have won it but they can still lose it.
“It’s still a long way to go and very difficult for everybody so the head-to-head (matches) will have a vital importance.
He has credited them for the way they have turned around their season after dropping quite a few points at the star. When asked about the possibility of them breaking his teams record soon,
Wenger’s answer was class as always:
They have addressed their problems well. You have to give credit to Conte to find a solution that has balanced well his team.
“They bought David Luiz who stabilised their defensive record and I think overall they are the team that has been the most consistent until now.”
“If they do it, it’s absolutely marvellous because nobody expected that. At the start of the season, they had a little bit of a dodgy start, but after, since they’ve changed their system, they are on a run where the confidence plays a big part.
“If they do it, you can only say ‘well done’. Record are there to be beaten and if somebody does better than you, you have to acknowledge it and say ‘well done’.”
Arsenal next welcome Crystal Palace at the Emirates on New Year’s day and if they are to keep the pressure on the League leaders they almost certainly have to win their match and not risk falling 12 behinds the leaders.
If Chelsea win against Stoke that would leave them facing Spurs next with a chance to break Arsenals record with a win against them. So certainly from an Arsenal point of view it seems to be quite a dilemma deciding which team to support that day …
