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| Arsenal, who are sixth and trail fourth-placed Man City by seven points, will seek their first victory in four games when they host West Ham on Wednesday |
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday his side remain in the race for a top-four Premier League finish despite the recent slump in form and will look to ensure a positive end to the season.
The North London side, who are sixth in the league and trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points, will seek their first victory in four games when they host 14th-placed West Ham United on Wednesday.
Arsenal have never finished outside top-four under Wenger, who sees increased importance in finishing with one of the four Champions League qualification spots this season.
โItโs a good challenge but I think itโs certainly possible,โ Wenger told a news conference. โFor 20 years I have done it and it looked nothing. Suddenly now itโs important and people realise it is not as easy as it looked.
โWe are fighting to have a positive end of season. Thatโs why you want the fans to stand behind the team.โ
Wenger said defender Laurent Koscielny, who was substituted at half-time during 2-2 draw with Man City on Sunday, suffered an Achilles injury and is set to have a scan later on Tuesday.
โIt (the injury) is serious,โ said Wenger. โIf he has ruptured the fibres then he could be out for a few weeks, if not, he could be available to face Crystal Palace. I will tell you more tomorrow.โ
Defender Per Mertesacker and midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey return from injury layoff and could feature against West Ham.
