Wenger won’t give up on top-four

LONDON: Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal can still salvage their turbulent season by defying the odds to snatch a Champions League place on the final day.

Wenger’s side kept alive their faint hopes of qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition as Alexis Sanchez’s double clinched a 2-0 win over relegated Sunderland on Tuesday.

The Gunners’ sixth victory in their last seven games leaves them in fifth place, one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool and three adrift of third-placed Manchester City.

For Arsenal to avoid missing out on the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, they must beat Everton at home on Sunday, while hoping for a slip from either Liverpool or City.

If Liverpool beat relegated Middlesbrough and City avoid defeat at Watford, then Arsenal are consigned to the Europa League, but Wenger hasn’t given up yet.

“We want to get in there, let’s give ourselves every chance,” he said. “If you have only a one percent chance you still have to give everything.

“I think we have a good chance. If we win we know the most we will be behind is one point, so let’s see what happens.”

At the conclusion of a season that only served to underline how far Arsenal have declined in recent years, Wenger knows missing out on the top-four would be the last straw for a large section of his club’s disenchanted support.

There were swathes of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday as fans stayed away in protest at Wenger’s failings.