Arsene
Wenger threw in the towel on the title race on Sunday evening after
watching Arsenal blow another winning position at Swansea.
The
Gunners surrendered a lead at the Liberty Stadium, with Garry Monk's
side scoring twice in three minutes through Gylfi Sigurdsson and
Bafetimbi Gomis to turn the game on its head.
Alexis Sanchez had put the visitors in front, but they weren't able to hold on for the second time in a week.
VIDEO Scroll down for Arsene Wenger: We were in control but let Swansea back in game
Arsene Wenger looked unimpressed as his side gave up a lead for the second time in less than a week
Bafetimbi Gomis (second left) out-jumps Nacho Monreal to score the winning goal, as Arsenal collapsed again
Swansea's Wayne Routledge mocked Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez after his over-confident tweet on Saturday see more
‘Chelsea
are on an average of 100 points this season,’ the Arsenal boss
explained. ‘If you look at the number of points they have, if they keep
that up nobody will catch them.
‘There doesn’t look to be anybody capable of challenging them at the moment.’
Wenger
was far less impressed with his own side, who led through Sanchez
before a wonderful Sigurdsson free-kick and Gomis’s header left the
Gunners 12 points off the pace.
The
turnaround followed their stunning Champions League capitulation from
3-0 up against Anderlecht in midweek, in which they stuttered to a 3-3
draw.
Wenger
said: ‘Chelsea are on an average of 100 points this season. If you look
at the number of points they have, if they keep that up nobody will
catch them, that’s for sure.
‘There doesn’t look to be anybody capable of challenging them at the moment.’
He
added: ‘We had a very disappointing week, considering the performances
we produced and the end results we got are very disappointing.
‘We
were 3-0 up against Anderlecht and 1-0 up here and in the end we lose
two points against Anderlecht and three points against Swansea. I think
it’s very, very disappointing because you have to be capable, once you
are 1-0 up and a big team, to win the game.’
Wenger
was at a loss to explain the latest collapse, in which Mathieu Flamini
looked furious after being substituted for Jack Wilshere in the second
half and then stormed down the tunnel at full time.
Gylfi Sigurdsson's stunning free kick flies past Wojciech Szczesny to level the game for Swansea
Wenger can only watch on as his team again lost a game he believes they should have won
Wenger
admitted Flamini’s behaviour ‘is not my biggest worry at the moment’ as
he rued a missed chance to climb back into the top four.
‘I
don’t know how damaging it is (to morale), but in the table certainly
it’s very disappointing,’ he said. ‘We had an opportunity to come back
into the top four in a bit more of a comfortable way. That we didn’t
take it is disappointing.’
He
added: ‘It’s unfortunate to lose a game like that. We produced quite a
decent performance for 75 minutes but you have to last 90 minutes. Did
Tuesday night play a part in our mind? I don’t think so. I hope not.
‘You
have to give Swansea credit - they didn’t give up, they fought until
the end, they scored a good free-kick and in the end we lost the three
points. That’s very sad.’
Monk,
who has guided Swansea to fifth in his first campaign as permanent
manager, said: ‘We saw what happened in midweek (to Arsenal) but we
prepared for the Arsenal we all know. I know they suffered in midweek
but they are dangerous. We managed them very well.
‘We are very happy going into the international break with the points that we have.’
Alexis Sanchez had put the Gunners into the lead in the second half after a clinical counter-attack
Sanchez celebrates his goal, but Wenger was left frustrated by his team's inability to see out the win
Swansea players celebrate Sigurdsson's equaliser at the Liberty Stadium, before grabbing the winner
Arsenal players can't hide their dismay after Swansea's second goal and it meant Arsenal lost another lead
Calum Chambers (left) struggled to cope with Jefferson Montero's pace ahead of Swansea's winner
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