According to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, nine Premier League games are not enough to say who will go on and win the title, in England.

Speaking in his pre-Chelsea press conference, the Frenchman was asked if the Gunners are aiming for a Top Four finish after allegedly saying so during yesterday’s Annual General Meeting, to which he replied by saying that Top Four is the “minimal target” for the Club but how this doesn’t mean that the players will not fight to win the title.

Fully aware that the gap from the top is not a small one, the Arsenal boss added that Arsenal’s objective at this stage of the season is to win as many games as possible so as to move closer to the top of the table.

On tomorrow’s game against the Blues, Wenger concluded by saying that the game will be a test for his players, a test of strength, a test of resolve, a test of commitment and an opportunity to show that the Gunners deserve to be considered amongst the best in the country.

On Friday morning, the manager said:

I feel that [a top-four finish] is the minimal target inside the Club that we have always achieved.

Of course at the moment we are far from Manchester City – 12 points – so today we have to get back to a shorter distance before we can say we will fight for the title.

What is important for us is to first get back in a fighting position closer to the top. Who would write off the title after nine games?

People who do that have nothing to do in this job if you don’t believe that you have a chance. But we have to be realistic at the moment, we are not in contention for that.

But there is only nine games played so what is important is to fight, to get in there. No team has won the championship after nine games.

Your [the media's] job is always to predict who will win but it’s impossible, no matter how much you know football, to predict who will win the league after nine games.

First of all a win [against Chelsea] would of course install us among the top teams in the league.

But what is very important is that it would strengthen the belief inside the team and would continue our progress.

I feel we are getting stronger and Chelsea is a big test – a test of strength, a test of resolve, a test of commitment – and that is what we expect tomorrow.