Wenger and Ozil clash: one believes in winning the title, the second says we screwed up

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has refused to throw in the towel in the title race and insisted he will only judge his side’s season at the end of the campaign after what he called a very difficult few months. The Gunners are 11 points behind surprise league leaders Leicester City and six points behind London rivals Tottenham, but have an extra game to play. They have six games in April and by its end we will have a better indication on where the Gunners’ title hopes lie.

In light of Mesut Ozil’s comments that Arsenal screwed their title ambitions up, Wenger feels they should be judged at the end of the season. Ozil believes that the north London club have “screwed up” their title bid and are relying on results other than their own.

“Looking at our season so far, we have to be honest and admit that we screwed up ourselves,” said Ozil. “We did not play to our potential in the games against the so-called smaller teams. You immediately get punished for that in the Premier League.”

The former Real Madrid player, however, is keen to win the silverware for his manager and believes they are still in contention.  “I would be delighted for Wenger if we win the title,” he added.

“He played a major role in my decision to join Arsenal. He was desperate to sign me. Everybody knows he is an extraordinary manager. He is always hungry for success, has a lot of experience and always takes his time for the players. He helps players develop.”

On his side, Wenger feels they should be judged at the end of the season. “Not at the moment (on whether they screwed themselves), Wenger said.

“We are focused on giving our best until the end of the season. Then we judge the season. We have been involved in many competitions as well. It was not always easy. We had many injuries as well at important moments of the season. Let us not judge too much.

“Our job is to perform until the last day of the season. Let’s do our job. Talking is not our job. Performing is our job and let’s focus on that.”

To confirm how confident he is to win the league this season, he said: “If we win all the eight games, we have more than a chance to win the league, but our target is to win the games.”