Arsene Wenger admits Leicester are now favourites to win the Premier League title but insists his Arsenal side’s challenge is back on course.
The Gunners’ 2-0 win at Bournemouth was their first in five league games and moved Wenger’s side up to third place, five points adrift of Leicester before next weekend’s meeting between the two teams.
The Arsenal manager believes it was crucial his side ended their dismal recent run but is convinced they will now meet Claudio Ranieri’s side with renewed belief.
“Yes, of course (we needed a win), for two reasons. One we haven’t won for a while, we had four games without a win,” said Wenger.
“When you play at the top, that’s a long period, confidence drops a little bit. Leicester running away and us playing them next week, to make the game interesting, it was very important for us to win today.
“In one week, Leicester has beaten Liverpool and Man City. So that means suddenly they become the favourite in the league. That makes our game on Sunday a very big one.”
He added: “We have been in a title race and we are still in it. We cannot control people’s opinions.
“We can just control our performances and to show that we believe in it, you know, and that we have the level to do it. There’s still a very long way to go.
“I agree with you that Leicester now are the favourites. We have a big game at home now against them, and I believe we have enough quality and nerves to deal with that.”
Arsenal went into Sunday’s game having failed to score in their last three league outingsa but secured the points through first half goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.