Arsene: Top four near impossible

ARSENE WENGER has given up on a top-four finish and will prioritise success in the Europa League after his side slumped to another defeat at Brighton. Arsenal are sixth in the Premier League, 13 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham with only nine games remaining. ‘We have to be realistic,’ said Wenger. ‘It’s very difficult, nearly impossible, we are too far behind. We need two teams to collapse, not one, if we are to qualify for the Champions League and I don’t see that happening. ‘We have to give our best as long as we can and the Europa League becomes important. At the moment we have different worries in how to come back to winning a game.’ The Frenchman used a bizarre analogy to describe his team’s lack of confidence, adding: ‘When you have just the trousers on, it’s easy to take those trousers off as well but when you are naked completely you have to find the shirt and to try to put it on again and dress normal again.’ On fans calling for him to go, he said: ‘I understand the frustration but what can I say?’ Asked if he thought he could turn the tide, he said: ‘Yes, because I’ve done it before. A quality of a manager is to shorten a crisis and I believe I can do that.’ Goalkeeper Petr Cech took responsibility for the goals by Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray which put Brighton 2-0 up inside 26 minutes. On Twitter, Cech said: ‘If you want to win a game away from home in the best league in the world your GK can’t concede two goals like I did today. It’s simply not possible. The team fought back but the damage was done.’ On Sky Sports, Thierry Henry was unsurprised by the result. ‘I expected it unfortunately,’ said the club legend. ‘That’s what bothers me the most.’