Wenger fires warning to Rafa: Arsenal can leapfrog Liverpool - and win title

Published: 20 Apr 2009 - 15:43:23

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Wenger fires warning to Rafa: Arsenal can leapfrog Liverpool - and win title

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes they can still finish above tomorrow's opponents Liverpool in the Premier League and warned the Reds: 'Winning is what we live for.' The Gunners go into the second-versus-fourth clash nine points behind their rivals with six games to play, but Wenger believes his side can convert their late-season form into a burst up the table. The north London side are on a run of five straight wins in the League and strolled past Villarreal in the Champions League midweek. But were beaten by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Wembley woe: Emmanuel Adebayor (right) challenges Chelsea skipper John Terry during Saturday's FA Cup semi-final Wenger said: 'Winning is what we live for. We want to win. We are not happy remaining fourth. We want to get closer to them. Third place is important, second place is not out of the question and why not first? DM.has("footballFeeds"); Your TeamsTablesFixturesResults Premier League Championship League One League Two Conference Premier Premier League (SPL) First Division Second Division Third Division AllArsenalAston VillaBlackburn RoversBolton WanderersChelseaEvertonFulhamHull CityLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedMiddlesbroughNewcastle UnitedPortsmouthStoke CitySunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Bromwich AlbionWest Ham UnitedWigan Athletic All September October November December January February March April May June July August TeamsPGDPTS 1 Man Utd 31 33 71 2 Liverpool 32 38 70 3 Chelsea 32 35 67 4 Arsenal 32 26 61 5 Aston Villa 33 6 54 6 Everton 32 13 52 7 West Ham 33 1 45 8 Fulham 33 5 44 9 Tottenham 33 3 44 10 Man City 33 7 41 11 Wigan 32 -5 41 12 Stoke City 33 -15 39 13 Bolton 33 -11 37 14 Portsmouth 32 -13 37 15 Sunderland 33 -12 35 16 Hull City 33 -20 34 17 Blackburn 33 -20 34 18 Middlesbrough 33 -22 31 19 Newcastle 33 -16 30 20 West Brom 33 -33 25 HOME AWAY Your Teams: Fixtures HOME AWAY Your Teams: Results Click on a team for the latest news stories from across the web'You never know. We don't want to have any regrets. We want to keep our run going. It's true we have lost an opportunity in the FA Cup but we have so many big targets in front of us.' Despite a Wembley nightmare on his 24th birthday, Lukasz Fabianski will again deputise for the injured Manuel Almunia in goal. But the young Pole has been backed by the Arsenal manager. Wenger added: 'He didn't have the best game but that can happen even if you have a 10-year career behind you. I don't want to put it down to experience. 'Three days before he had an excellent game against Villarreal. Petr Cech had a bad game against Liverpool and a good game against us. It can happen.' Asked to compare Anfield to the Wembley pitch he complained about on Saturday, he said: 'The difference between Wembley and Liverpool is that Liverpool is always a good pitch so you can guarantee two teams in a position to play football. That's already good news. 'Safety wasn't a concern. I just feel the biggest stadium in England should have a good pitch and it's not an excuse for us losing the game. We lost against a very side so congratulations to them. 'It is a matter of respect to the fans who pay good money to watch a football game. You will never get a good football match on a bad pitch. 'They should reconsider the whole structure of the pitch. You can relay it every three months but you will always have a bad pitch. Confident mood: Arsene Wenger 'Wembley is not good enough for the Champions League final, the Olympic Games, or the FA Cup semi-final. Why? When you build a new stadium, the first priority is that the pitch is good. If that's not right the whole stadium is bad. It doesn't matter how much money you spend.' The Arsenal manager added that he believes mind games between rival managers are 'overrated' and can actually have a negative impact on the teams' performances on the pitch. He was speaking after the latest skirmishes between Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who has accused the Spaniard of 'arrogance' and 'contempt'. Wenger said: 'You want respect in the game, and we managers are responsible for it. I do not want to interfere in that more because I do not know what happened (between Ferguson and Benitez). 'I believe it (mind games) was always something which was overrated a bit. But it is part of our environment and part of the media. 'You never know how much impact it has because it is impossible to measure. It is a little bit like advertising - it is needed but what impact it has on sales you never know. With mind games it's the same. 'I believe that it can sometimes have a negative impact rather than a positive impact. There is a rivalry there and I do not give too much importance to it.' Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2: Drogba's journey reaches the final stopMARTIN SAMUEL: English clubs are the envy of Europe, so why listen to MPs?ALL THE MIDWEEK BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM NEWS ARSENAL FC