Arsene Wenger

The Arsenal boss insisted his side were still in the driving seat in the race for the automatic Champions League spot

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that his side are still in the driving seat for the automatic Champions League spot.

The Gunners are three points clear of Newcastle in third but have played a game more than the Magpies, while Tottenham sit another three points back.

“We are still in the driving seat but of course we have to win our next three games,” Wenger told reporters.

“It is not all negative because we played against a Chelsea team who decided to lock the game and try to catch us on the break.

“We lacked a bit of spontaneous change of pace in our passing and could not open them up enough.

“My players have shown a lot of character, but we lacked just a bit of what is usually our strength, which is the speed of our passing to open teams up with our combination play.”