Arsenal are still playing catch-up to Chelsea but the in-from Gunners will be ready to pounce if the leaders suffer from some end of season yips, manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday.
Arsenal are riding high in the Premier League and have shot up to second with 63 points from 31 matches after last weekend’s 4-1 victory against Liverpool.
Table-topping Chelsea still boast a seven-point and a game in hand advantage over the Gunners, but Wenger hopes his side can maintain an impressive run of form that has seen them win 10 of their last 11 league matches.
“We still have many challenges until the end of the season,” Wenger told a news conference.
“It is interesting that we are in good form, and it’s interesting that we have a good team dynamic. Hopefully we can maintain that until the end of the season.
“We look behind us and people are chasing us, in front of us there’s quite a big distance with Chelsea but we work very hard to reduce that.
“Then we will see where we stand.”
Arsenal travel to 19th-placed Burnley on Saturday and will welcome back midfielders Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby after injury.
“Burnley is a tough test for everybody,” Wenger said.
“You shouldn’t look at the table because they started slowly but recently they played very well against all the big teams in the league.”
Olivier Giroud has scored in each of his last six league appearances and Wenger believes the French striker has finally adapted to the Premier League after joining from Ligue 1 side Montpellier in 2012.
“He is playing his best football since he arrived in England,” Wenger said. “The target of everybody when you wake up in the morning is to be better than the day before.
“If you are not capable of thinking like that then you are in the wrong job. He has accepted that and he has the right focus everyday to improve.”
