BRIGHTON – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he remains the right man to turn things around at the London club despite watching his side slip to a fourth successive defeat in all competitions at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
The 2-1 loss on the south coast was Arsenal’s eighth defeat in 14 games in all competitions since the turn of the year, and they are now 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Yet even with some of the Arsenal fans calling for the Frenchman to step down at the Amex Stadium, Wenger remained confident in his own ability to reverse their slump.
“Yes (I can turn things around), because I have done it before,” Wenger said. “It is not the first time I have lost so many games in a row. I believe I can do it.
“At the moment, my future is not my main worry. It’s about Arsenal winning games, then we’ll see where we go from there.
“I will do my best, as long as I’m here.”
Wenger also pointed to a demanding fixture schedule as a reason for their struggles, with the club having played Manchester City in the league on Thursday, days after losing to the same club in the League Cup final at Wembley.
“We have to recover physically first,” he said. “The programme we have at the moment is a bit too demanding.
“I can understand the (fans’) frustration. The League Cup situated in the middle of the season is always difficult when you don’t win it. It brings a lot of negativity.
“On top of that, the game rearranged on Thursday night didn’t help us to compete today.”
Chris Hughton is only the 3rd manager to beat Arsene Wenger in the #PL with three different clubs (after Mark Hughes & Sam Allardyce) #BHAARS pic.twitter.com/t5y8caNm4j
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 4, 2018
With a top-four spot so far out of reach, the Europa League may represent Arsenal’s best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Winning that competition, however, seems like a tall order, with in-form Italian side AC Milan up next for Arsenal in the round of 16.
“We have to be realistic in the Champions League (finishing in the top four spots), we need two teams to collapse,” Wenger added.
“I can’t see that happening at the moment because two teams (above us) dropping points is difficult to imagine. Of course the Europa League is very important.”