Arsenal boss Wenger tells flops to stop thinking about title and find their form

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• More Premier League news club by club

The next 10 days will be decisive in the Gunners' hunt for silverware as their match at Bolton in the Premier League tomorrow is followed by three games against Liverpool — with next Saturday's domestic clash sandwiched by two quarter-final ties in the Champions League.

The Arsenal manager admitted today that he is no longer even thinking of the title race after a catastrophic run of matches.

Arsenal have failed to win any of their last five League games and their most recent defeat, a 2-1 reverse at Chelsea, means they now trail leaders Manchester United by six points.

Their hopes of salvaging something from a campaign which once brimmed with possibilities now appear to rest with the Champions League but Wenger knows his side are running out of chances to find form ahead of next Wednesday's clash with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

Now the Frenchman has seen fit to issue a rallying call to his beleaguered side, urging them to rediscover the spirit which characterised their early-season displays.

"We need to win our next game and get a grip before thinking about whether we can win the title," he said. "We have to be realistic: our form in recent games has not been good enough to dream of titles.

"I believe we will do it but we need to get back to our defensive stability. We were leading with 20 minutes to go at Chelsea and then surrendered it. What we produced defensively was just not us: we can do much better than that."

Wenger has also reiterated his backing for captain William Gallas, 30, after reports he had lost the confidence of team-mates following a string of erratic performances.

"I am satisfied with William's leadership," he added. "People are after him but he is strong enough to deal with that."

Wenger confirmed that defender Bacary Sagna will miss at least three weeks with the ankle injury he suffered at Chelsea, while Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) is still out.