ARSENE WENGER believes his Arsenal team, who are currently fourth in the Premier League, will have a "massive influence" on who wins this year's title. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all have to play the north London club before the end of the season.
Sir Alex Ferguson's champions, aiming to claim the Premier League for a third consecutive year, host Arsenal on 16 May in the clubs' penultimate match of the campaign. By then the Gunners will also have played Chelsea at the Emirates a week earlier and visited Anfield on 21 April.
"Yes of course we will have a massive influence," Wenger said. "But at the moment the first target is to get away from Aston Villa [in fifth] and then get close to Chelsea and Liverpool because you never know.
"The best schedule is Chelsea's," he said of Guus Hiddink's team, who have four games to play at home. "But I think Manchester United is in the strongest position because the game in hand [against Portsmouth] is not away. "This weekend will be important because United go to Sunderland. I believe that when you have a game in hand, seven games to go, if you can be four [points] ahead it is still a big advantage. "
The Frenchman's side visit Wigan today to start what he says will be a pivotal week for the club – Villarreal are at the Emirates on Wednesday evening hoping to overturn the 1-1 draw from the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, before Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.
"It's a massive week. The league remains a priority of the future; the Champions League and FA Cup the priority of the immediate," added the Frenchman, who yesterday came under attack from Lassana Diarra when the Real Madrid player discussed his brief five-month spell at Arsenal that ended in January of last year. Asked what he had learned from Wenger the former Chelsea midfielder said: "Nothing. I did not learn anything. He just taught me to doubt everything. The relationship was not good. "I learned more with Jose Mourinho. [He] taught me to fight. If you had a problem, it would be discussed. Wenger never addressed me until I told him I was going. He talked to others, but not me. I feel like I never played for Arsenal. If people do not remind me, I forget about them. It's erased from my memory."
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