Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that his side will not be in contention for the Premier League title come the end of the season, and a realistic target is a top four finish.

The Gunners have had a below-par start to the 2011-12 campaign, losing four out of their first seven games, the latest of which was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham in the North London derby on Sunday.

With the Manchester clubs racing into an early lead at the top of the table, the French manager believes the gap is already unassailable.

"At the moment we have to set ourselves a realistic target to get in touch with those teams who are fighting to stay in the Champions League. To say we will win the league is not realistic," he told Sky Sports.

"We are 12 points behind Manchester United and Manchester City so it is not realistic today to say that we will win the league. We have to fight to come back into a much better position.

"We lack a little bit of confidence at the moment and just want to protect our result too much when we have one," he concluded.

Arsenal have a home fixture against Sunderland next after the international break, but are clearly struggling with the loss of big name players in the transfer window over the summer and a growing injury list.

By Gareth McKnight

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