Wenger believes 80 points could be enough to win title

(Reuters) – The race for the Premier League title will be a lot closer due to the highly competitive nature of the league and 80 points could be enough to clinch the title, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said ahead of Monday’s clash with Manchester City.

Manchester United were the last team to win the league with 80 points back in 2011 but Chelsea needed 87 points to lift the trophy last season.

Wenger also stressed the importance of taking points off their main rivals this season and is keen to start in Monday’s “massive” game against City.

“It looks to be very tight. We have played 16 games and the top team is on 35 points, so it means that the Premier League could be decided at around 80 points,” Wenger told reporters on Thursday.

“If you look at the results it looks as though the consistency will be the main priority in this league because every week you are surprised by the results,” he added.

“It is a massive game (on Monday). When we play at home you want to win because we are ambitious and we feel we have the chance to come out in a strong position after Christmas.

“It will be a very tight game because if you look at the numbers since the start of the season, offensively and defensively the numbers are very close.

“Manchester City has huge individual potential with David Silva and Sergio Aguero coming back and so we will need a top, top-level team performance.”

Arsenal, who are second in the league table, will hope to open a four-point gap between themselves and third-placed Manchester City with a victory on Monday.

(Writing by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O’Brien)