With Arsenal in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions league for the first time in 21 years, manager Arsene Wenger says his team faces a "massive" challenge to finish in the top four of the Premier league.
"We might get there, we might not get there, but the only thing to get there is to believe we can do it and that's what we have to focus on," Wenger said Friday. "It's not the fear to fail, it's the desire to make it and that's the only chance we have to make it."
Wenger conceded the mood in the Arsenal camp had "not been very enjoyable" following the 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday, its third league loss in the last five games. For Wenger, "it is not acceptable (that we wanted it less). That's what I said straight after the game. We were beaten, and you have to face reality and respond," the Frenchman added. He added that: "To play with restriction and a little bit of a handbrake on doesn't help the performance."