Football: Wenger gives up title hopes

Worries for Arsenal after loss at Spurs in EPL.

LONDON:

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits his team cannot be regarded as title contenders after falling 12 points behind leaders Manchester United following their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.

Arsenal’s dismal start to the season mean they sit just two points above the bottom three and Wenger accepts it is unrealistic to consider his side to be likely title challengers.

“I think at the moment we have to set realistic targets,” he said. “At the moment we’re 12 points behind the leaders, it’s not realistic to say we’ll win the league.”

The Gunners’ disappointment was compounded by a potentially serious injury to Bacary Sagna that could potentially keep him out for several weeks.

“We’re worried about his injury,” the manager added. “He’s in hospital and the first signs don’t look good.”

The win was Tottenham’s fourth successive league victory and takes Harry Redknapp’s side up to sixth place. Redknapp admitted, however, that the abusive chants directed at Emmanuel Adebayor, Tottenham’s former Arsenal striker, from Gunners’ fans had marred the occasion.

“It was digusting,” he said. “How do you chant something like that to someone? You can’t be right mentally.”

City in talks with Tevez

Meanwhile, Manchester City confirmed that they are due to open talks with Carlos Tevez over the striker’s refusal to play in a Champions League match at Bayern Munich last week.

Tevez has been suspended for two weeks after reportedly refusing to come on as a substitute.

Tevez initially claimed he ‘didn’t feel right to play’, but later backtracked and said the situation had been caused by a ‘misunderstanding’. He explained that he thought he had been asked to warm up by manager Roberto Mancini, but refused as he had already done so.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2011.