Freddie Ljungberg is refusing to give up on Arsenal’s top four hopes amid a woeful run of form for the Gunners.
Arsenal are closer to the bottom three in the Premier League than the final Champions League spot, with a ten-point gap opening between them and fourth-place Chelsea following defeat to Brighton.
Ljungberg has so far failed to oversee an upturn in results since taking charge as interim boss, but insists Arsenal are still in the running for a Champions League spot.
‘No, I don’t think we should stop talking about the top four,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘But for us it’s about concentrating on what we’re doing here now and not look up, down, sideways.
‘We just need to work on our own game and our own confidence.’
It appears Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham will battle it out for the final Champions League spot, with Liverpool leading the table and Leicester City and Manchester City completing the top three.
Arsenal take on London rivals West Ham on Monday night, aiming to pick up their first win in nine games and Ljungberg’s first as head coach.
Senior Arsenal players have been blasted by pundits and fans in recent months and Ljungberg admitted he needed his star men to step up against the Hammers.
‘We need to change this downward spiral,’ Ljungberg said.
‘It is going to be a great occasion but maybe that is good for our players.
‘They can relax a little bit and concentrate on the game and hopefully do what they did when we came out for the second half [against Brighton].’
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