Wenger:arsenal nowhere near tittle race

Arsene Wenger has admitted defeat in Arsenal's quest for the Premier League title and has instead set his sights set on chasing down second-placed Manchester City
The Gunners moved up to third place in the Premier League table after beating Everton 2-0 on Saturday but remain nine points shy of leaders Chelsea, who also have a game in hand. On the other hand, they now lie just four points behind Manuel Pellegrini’s men after City lost to Liverpool.

With 11 matches left to play this season, Wenger has not given up hope of finishing as runners-up – a feat the north Londoners have not managed since the 2004-05 season.

"At the moment we're nowhere near winning the Premiership and nowhere close to being in the race, but we want to do as well as we can," the Frenchman admitted.

“Of course it is possible,” said Wenger when asked if the Gunners could overhaul the champions ahead of Wednesday’s showdown with QPR.

“If you ask a team four points behind us if they could catch us and they would say certainly, yes.”

He continued: “It's very tight. Man City are four points ahead and there are plenty of people chasing us in the top four. It's down to consistency.

“We have seen things change quickly in the last two or three months of the season. We have to focus on finishing as well as we can.”

Wenger also confirmed that Aaron Ramsey is fit again and back in the squad to face QPR, while Francis Coquelin will need to wear a protective mask if he is selected after sustaining a broken nose against the Toffees.

Krystian Bielik will continue to play for the Under-18s, meanwhile, and is unlikely to make his first team debut this season.