Arsene Wenger says top-four finish ‘will be difficult’ after Everton loss

• Posted on April 7, 2014April 7, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Arsenal boss feels his side face a run-in that could still see them claim a Champions League spot, but they must rediscover their confidence to do so

Arsene Wenger admits a top-four finish will be difficult after Arsenal slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday.

The Gunners failed to win for the fourth straight Premier League match, and the Toffees now sit just one point behind Wenger’s side with a game in hand still to play.

And though the Frenchman believes his side have winnable fixtures, the task is certainly a tough one.

“I’m 100 percent determined to fight for the top four but it will be difficult,” he told reporters.

“We still have a programme that is feasible but we have to first focus on the quality of our performances before we dream of places. Let’s get back to playing better.

“The fight is very open and it’s not just dependant on us but it depends on Everton who are in a strong position.

“We have been confronted with that before and it’s about how we respond from such a disappointing performance.”

Wenger’s side were poor in a number of facets of their game, and the manager admitted that his side have lost confidence in recent weeks, especially away from home.

“Our performance was not convincing, neither defensively or offensively. Everton were better than us and deserved to win.

“It’s a very disappointing result and a very disappointing performance. We have to regroup and come back to basics.

“Today we were behind 1-0 early and I still feel we had a lot of the ball, though we weren’t really dangerous.

“Everton defended well and at the moment we lack confidence and penetration. The incisiveness from our game is missing.”

He added: “I would say our big defeats away from home have taken the charisma away from our team.”

-goal