Gallas issues rallying call

William Gallas accepts that Arsenal face an uphill battle to win the Premier League but insists the Gunners are still capable of winning the title.

"We can still win it. It is not finished yet, so we have to believe," Gallas told Arsenal TV Online.

"It will be difficult for us to come back because Manchester United now have six points (on Arsenal) - but we have to. We must play until the end of the season and then see.

"Maybe they can drop some points because of the Champions League - they can be tired, Chelsea too. We have to give everything until the end."

Sunday's defeat was only Arsenal's second in the league this season and Gallas insists the Gunners should not be disheartened having been on top at Stamford Bridge before Didier Drogba struck twice late on.

"Why do we have to be down?" asked Gallas. "Football is like this. You never know. You can be back. They can lose some points.

"We have to be ready for the next game and do not give up.

"We made some mistakes (against Chelsea), and sometimes it is difficult to understand. Normally we do not do things like this," he added.

"But if you do not have the luck, it is not easy.

"Maybe we deserved to win because before they scored we controlled the game. After their goal, we went down."

Chelsea V Arsenal

Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal

Sagna 59'

Drogba 73' and 82'

First Half Highlights

Second Half Highlights

This is a very bad result, considering that manu won earlier today. Our title hopes are fading by the minute. Our performance was really good, but what we lacked was that killer blow to finish of chelsea after we had taken the lead. Even though we are not entirely out of the title race(like liverpool) its getting tougher.


We have to rely on others teams result for us to win the BPL title from now on, which is not a good thing. Our young side's lack of experience is showing now. We just have to hope that they can overcome in the UCL at least, as its the only realistic target from now on till the end of the season.


Extras

Almunia save from Ballack free kick

Van persie's shot over the bar

Cudicini save from Eboue's chance

Drogba's Chance

Gallas hit the post which was later flagged offside

Match report here.

Match ratings here

Wengers post match comments here

Wenger - We will play wide

"I believe we need to get back to speeding up our passing around the box," said Wenger. "That's where we can be neater and where we can make a difference.

"We have been too narrow. That's down to the fact that I play Alex Hleb on one flank and he is more comfortable central and comes always inside.

"Therefore if teams defend deep like Middlesbrough did, we can be a bit narrow.

"We will play wide on Sunday, and Eboue is a natural wide player."

Source:skysports

Arsene Wenger: Arsenal playing to win

Wenger, whose side held an eight-point lead themselves not so long ago, said: "I don't think we have a problem with motivation.

"To progress now we are in the final sprint. That is the moment where the tactical observation is gone and you just try to win the game.

"I believe we are in a situation where the direct confrontations with the top three teams will have a direct influence on the championship. It's who can beat the direct opponents that will win it. That's what we want to achieve on Sunday."

Defeat to Chelsea would see Avram Grant's side leapfrog them in to second place. But Wenger is convinced his side are going to bring an end to their run of four consecutive draws.

He said: "I'm highly impressed by the strength the team has shown. It's true we had a mental blow after Birmingham [after Eduardo's injury]. It takes some time to recover but I feel the team are over that and we need to move on.

"We had an eight point lead, but we had played one game more, so really it was a five point lead. That is nothing. It can change very quickly.

"Recently we have been in situations where we had to chase the game. That didn't happen earlier in the season.

"Against Aston Villa, Birmingham and Middlesbrough we had to chase the game because we gave goals away. Let's score the first goal on Sunday."

Clichy - Chelsea's surge doesn't surprise me

"I don't think they have been overlooked," Clichy told Arsenal.com. "We always knew that Chelsea were going to be there at the end with such a great team and all the players they have got in the squad.

"They are a great club with great players, they won two championships and the only thing they are missing is the Champions League. Of course I won't wish them good luck for this year because we are still in it!

"Chelsea have been behind in the Premier League and that's not easier because you always have to win your games to catch up. But when you are in third people don't look at you like they look at the first team.

"We've had the experience of being on top and the pressure has been on. It's good to be top, it shows the quality is there, but it's not bad to be second or third. It will be an interesting end to the season and we hope we can come out in first place."

Wenger - It's frustrating but we will keep fighting until the end

Arsène Wenger is expecting his side to bounce back immediately from Saturday's disappointing draw against Middlesbrough.

Despite Kolo Toure's 84th-minute equaliser and a frantic finale, this felt like a defeat. But although Arsenal may have chosen the wrong time to wobble, the manager knows there is still time to rectify the situation.

"It is very frustrating because both Chelsea and Manchester United won 1-0 and they did not have the greatest of games either," said Wenger.

"That's what we wanted to achieve but it didn't work. We were 1-0 down early in the game and that gave Middlesbrough a lot of courage to defend. In the end we scored but it was too late to go on and win.

"It's frustrating because they had one shot on target and yet we dropped two points."

In fact there have been two points dropped in each of the last four games. For a title-chasing side who have been beaten only once all season that can only be classed as a slump. And Wenger has no apparent explanation.

"There is no obvious reason for it," he said. "Apart from the fact that we dropped two unbelievable points at Birmingham and that has maybe had consequences on our Premier League form.

"But you have to deal with it and I don't believe it's a good enough explanation. Wigan was just after the Champions League [at Milan], Aston Villa are a difficult team and we gave everything against Middlesbrough but we were not creative enough.

"I don't know [if the players feel sorry for themselves]. You can come to any conclusion. I feel they gave absolutely everything but there was a little fraction less of belief.

"There was a big disappointment in the dressing room. It was like a defeat. It is the flattest I have seen them after a game.

"But I feel this team fights. We came back again against Boro and this team will go until the end. I believe we need to keep fighting and then [we can] turn things around."

Toure - We can go to Chelsea and beat them

Chelsea's resurgence has heaped more pressure on Arsène Wenger's men but Toure believes that Arsenal can regroup and bounce back with a victory at Stamford Bridge next weekend.

"Again we were chasing the game [on Saturday] after conceding a really silly goal," said Toure. "It is always difficult for the team to come back and we are lucky that we scored a late goal again.

"Now we just need to keep going and win the big games. We are still in the title race and as long as we play like we did late on [against Middlesbrough] then in other games we might be more lucky.

"We will try to go to Chelsea and get some points. We know that we can go anywhere and win - we have shown that in Milan. We need to repeat that kind of performance next week and then we can beat Chelsea.

"We do not have a match now in the week, so we will rest and when we come back, we will be full of energy and can give everything. The most important thing is to be confident and play your game, stay strong in your mind and believe that until the end it is not finished.

"It is going to be an exciting finish to the Premier League. Whichever team is more confident and consistent is going to win the title. At the moment it is hard because we have dropped two points in every game. But when we get back to winning, we can carry that on until the end of the season."

source:arsenal.com