Arsene Wenger Says Arsenal Will Not Give Up on the Title After 0-0 vs. West Ham

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Wednesday his side will not give up on the Premier League title despite seeing the gap behind leaders Manchester City increase to 19 points after the Gunners were held to a goalless draw by West Ham United.

Per Sky Sports' Michael Hincks, Wenger did not want to be drawn on speaking about the title race but would not rule Arsenal out of it:

"I don't want to talk about that. That's good to make headlines but we have to focus on the next game and City is too far away to talk about the title at the moment.

"But it is one thing to be far away and another thing to give up. You don't give up. The job is to fight as long as we can and give our best. It's not to focus too much on anything else.

"We want to fight, our job is to fight and to continue to give everything and see where we finish. City is City. You know very well what is going on. We faced that problem with City like everyone else in the league."

Wenger's comments paint a stark contrast with Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte, whose side slipped to a 1-0 defeat against the Hammers on Saturday.

The Blues are 14 points behind the Citizens, and the Italian has accepted his side are not in the running this year, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone (warning: contains profanity):

Arsenal, who are winless in three Premier League matches, are even further back, as ESPN FC's Mattias Karen noted:

The Gunners have been known to let seasons go off the rails in November, but that did not happen this year, as they won three of their four Premier League matches, including the north London derby. Their only defeat came at the hands of City.

However, with a loss against Manchester United on Dec. 2, followed by draws with Southampton on Sunday and the Hammers on Wednesday, it appears they merely delayed the slump.

In explaining their latest setback, Wenger added: "Maybe if [West Ham] had played on Sunday and we had played on Saturday, it would have been different. They had more physical resources to defend with a lot of decisiveness."

Goal's Chris Wheatley does not believe that should have been a factor, though:

While City have more strength in depth than the Gunners—in forward areas, at least—to call on to help them deal with the busy fixture schedule, Arsenal still had plenty of time to prepare for the match, even if an extra day would have been useful.

Per the Daily Star's Aaron Stokes, Wenger also said of his side's struggles in front of goal: "I felt that the 33 shots on goal against Manchester United and the chances we missed maybe had a little impact there."

Wenger used a similar excuse after the 1-1 draw with Southampton, albeit to explain their problems at the back in that game.

While the Gunners had every right to feel frustrated at losing 3-1 to United despite largely dominating the game, having failed to take their many opportunities at one end and gifting their opponents chances at the other, it should be a worry if that match is still affecting them.

Arsenal are out of the title race and yet again embroiled in a battle to finish in the top four. They sit in seventh but only one point behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur, which demonstrates how close that contest is.

As such, they can ill afford to keep dropping points, particularly with the matches coming thick and fast. They need to move on from the United defeat and learn to cope with the short breaks between games.