Arsene Wenger: Arsenal dropped two points but top-four bid still on track

Arsene Wenger felt Arsenal dropped two valuable points in Tuesday’s goalless draw with Everton – but is still convinced the Gunners will finish in the top four.

The home side’s best chances fell to Olivier Giroud, but the French striker was unable to test Tim Howard in the Everton goal as the Toffees battled hard to earn a deserved point at The Emirates.

Tuesday’s stalemate leaves Arsenal in third place in the Premier League table – but Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur can overtake the Gunners if they win their games in hand.

However, with Spurs set to take on the Blues at Stamford Bridge next month, Wenger is confident Arsenal are still on track for Champions League qualification.

“We have 60 points and I believe, against Everton, we dropped two,” said Wenger, whose side travel to Fulham on Saturday. “But if we win our coming games we’ll get there.

“The other teams [Spurs and Chelsea] have 58 with a game in hand but they play each other.

“We just don’t want to depend on the results of the other teams.

“What is the most important thing is to win our next game. My belief was always strong and still is. I’m confident we’ll do it. The best way is to put the same effort into the next game.”

Wenger admitted that Arsenal’s finishing left a lot to be desired against the Merseysiders, with the Gunners managing 16 shots during a lively encounter.

“We had the chances to win the game,” he said. “We can only look at ourselves and next time try and take our chances.

“We are on a very strong run so we do not want to complain too much about what didn’t go for us. Let’s look at ourselves, come back in the next game and win it.”

And midfielder Mikel Arteta echoed his manager’s sentiments after the game.

“When we had our chances we didn’t hit the target and that’s why we didn’t get the points,” he said. “We were unlucky not to score.”

He added: “The pressure is on every team, Chelsea and Spurs have got tough games coming up.”