Wenger says Arsenal must look over their shoulder now
LONDON (Reuters) - Arsene Wenger said his Arsenal side must now look over their shoulders after conceding their Premier League title hopes are virtually over on Saturday.
Arsenal squandered a 2-0 lead at West Ham United to draw 3-3 -- a result that left the Gunners 10 points behind leaders Leicester City with six matches remaining.
Leicester could go 13 clear of third-placed Arsenal if they win at Sunderland on Sunday and while Wenger said there was still hope, securing a top-four place now seems the priority.
"Third in the league with 59 points. That is not where we want to be but we have made it much more difficult for ourselves now to have a chance to win the Premier League," the Frenchman told reporters. "We have to keep going no matter what and hope.
"You never know what can happen. As well, we have to look behind us as people are chasing us. We have to be serious and focus on finishing as high as possible."
Arsenal are five points ahead of Manchester City who play later and six clear of fifth-placed Manchester United who are in action at title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
When Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both scored inside the first 35 minutes at Upton Park, a third consecutive league win looked on the cards which would have at least given Arsenal hope that they could reel in Leicester.
But an Andy Carroll hat-trick left Arsenal scrambling before they secured the draw thanks to Laurent Koscielny's 70th minute strike.
"You feel guilty we have dropped points," Wenger, whose side were unable to control the aerial threat of Carroll, said.
"He is good in the air. We lost a bit of urgency when we were 2-0 up after 43 minutes. We had a good game today but a bad result."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)