Wenger hopeful of Arsenal title challenge

Arsene Wenger has admitted the quality and spirit in Arsenal’s team has left him hopeful of a title challenge this season.

The Gunners boss was forced to reshape his attacking options following the departure of captain Robin Van Persie to Man United.

But the arrival of Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla has galvanised the north London side and seen them make an unbeaten start to the season.

And following a dazzling display against Man City, which saw Arsenal come from behind to earn a point despite dominating the game, Wenger claimed his team are capable of challenging the Premier League champions.

“I believe it will be very open,” he said. “It is down to how well we continue to progress.

“We are not the perfect team yet, we have a lot of room for improvement but we have two fantastic things in this team.

“First of all a good collective quality and secondly a great spirit, both of those together give me hope.”