ARSENE WENGER admitted last night he was "indifferent" to the Champions League, with his priority maintaining Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League. However, he did accept his side's prospects in the two competitions are now intertwined.
The prospect of confronting Liverpool three times in a week - the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final will sandwich a Premier League meeting at the Emirates next month - may be intriguing, but it could also prove a distraction with a league game at Manchester United to follow.
Judged against this season's high standards, Arsenal have slipped in recent weeks, with Wenger conceding the two matches against Milan in the first knockout phase distracted his players from domestic competition. "I believe between the two legs [ against Milan] there was a hangover because we were desperate to go through and the draw in the first leg created an uncertainty," said Wenger.
"We dropped maybe two points from that . . . we are not sitting here focusing just on the Liverpool games. We are concentrating on the league."
The visit of Middlesbrough, the only team who have defeated Arsenal this season in the Premier League, to the Emirates this afternoon will offer an opportunity to fix attentions firmly back on domestic priorities. Arsenal have drawn their last three league games, seeing a five-point lead over Manchester United eroded.
Indeed, they are likely to kick off this evening in arrears given Alex Ferguson's side visit the bottom club Derby County first. But, with games against United and Chelsea to come, Wenger insisted the destiny of the title remained in Arsenal's hands.
He will today consider handing Robin van Persie his first start since the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates on January 9th. "The title is there to win for all three teams - I have never ruled Chelsea out - but it is down to us and our performances," he added. "I'm optimistic with the mental strength my team are showing. The Liverpool game is exciting but, at the moment, I am quite indifferent to the Champions League as I want us to do well in the championship race."
