Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has blamed the "horrendous" fixture schedule for the team's recent run of four games without a win. Wenger's side ended that bad patch with a 3-1 fightback win at West Ham on Boxing Day, a result that pushed them back at the top of the Premier League table. But the Arsenal boss criticised the schedule which saw his team take on six matches in 23 days.
"It has been a difficult period but mainly down to our schedule," Wenger said. "I completely think our schedule has been absolutely horrendous." Arsenal began the month of December with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Hull, but after that they collected just two points from three matches,losing 6-3 at Manchester City in between home draws against Everton and Chelsea. Their poor run also included a 2-0 defeat away to Napoli in their final Champions League Group F match, but Arsenal still qualified for the knockout stages despite that result.
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta also questioned the decision to schedule the league game at Manchester City for a Saturday lunchtime, giving the players little time to recover from playing Napoli on the previous Wednesday night. Wenger hinted that the effect of a busy schedule on his team's results had also affected their confidence. "When you do not win for four games, it's important to come back and for your confidence level to win. If we had not won at West Ham, we would have had to answer many questions. It was the kind of game many people would have questioned us had we not won and especially if we lost."
Arsenal will face a seventh game in 26 days when they travel to Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday. Newcastle are coming from a great run which saw them climb up to sixth place in the table, just six points behind leaders Arsenal. The Magpies are unbeaten in four matches, with three wins and a draw. Here are the odds for Sunday's match at Bet365:
Newcastle win - 3/1
Draw - 27/10
Arsenal win - 1/1
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