Wenger admits Arsenal have no title target

Arsene Wenger admits talk of a Premier League title challenge from Arsenal is “not realistic”.

The 2017-18 campaign is only 15 games old, but the Gunners are already prepared to focus on other areas.

Wenger’s side sit 15 points adrift of leaders Manchester City at present, with a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United dropping them into fifth spot.

Arsenal are, however, very much in the top-four picture, safely through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and the last-32 of the Europa League and preparing to open their FA Cup campaign with a third round clash against Nottingham Forest.

With there plenty of other avenues to explore for his side, Wenger is prepared to forget about chasing the top-flight crown for now, telling reporters: "At the moment we have different worries than the title.

"We are too far from the title at the moment to speak about the title. It's not realistic. Let's try to win our next game and over a longer distance see if we can come back."

Arsenal’s next game comes against Southampton on Sunday.

That contest represents another quick turnaround for the Gunners, with kick-off at St Mary’s set for noon.

Wenger’s side were in Europa League action on Thursday evening against BATE and the Frenchman believes rivals are getting preferential treatment from those in charge of fixture scheduling.

He said: "I have nothing against the fact that we have to do that, as long as our opponents have the same recovery days.

"That was not the case last week and will not be the case again. Between three days and five days is a big gap on the recovery side. If we have to play every day I don't mind as long as our opponents do as well."