Arsene Wenger has refused to give on Arsenal making the top four despite Saturday afternoons defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
A solitary Harry Kane header just after the break proved the difference between the two sides at Wembley as Spurs edged out a tight North London derby.
Arsenal failed to create many clear cut opportunities, but were unlucky not to have levelled the score late on, had it not been for substitute Alexandre Lacazette’s lacklustre finishing.
The defeat sees the Gunners remain in sixth, however they are now six points adrift of Liverpool in fourth, and seven behind Spurs, who are in third.
Despite slipping further adrift from the pack however, Wenger has refused to give up hope of an increasingly unlikely top four finish.
“It’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose, of course. That makes it much more difficult now but we have to fight for as long as we have a mathematical chance.” said the Frenchman.
“There was more at stake than just the derby, I said that before the game. That’s why it’s so disappointing to lose the game in the way we lost it.”
Should the Gunners miss out on the top-four, their only route to secure Champions League football would be via winning the Europa League.
Arsenal take on Osterund in the round-of-32 on Thursday night, but Wenger has refused to lay all his hopes of Champions League football on his side winning Europe’s second tier competition.
“It’s too early, yes. [to think about winning the Europa League] Football is not about switching off for three games and then switching it on for one game.” said Wenger.
“Manchester United decided that once they were in the semi-final. We are far from the semi-final and we have to fight to have a chance to come back. For me, it’s a very disappointing result because the priority has to be to get into the Champions League from the Premier League [top-four finish].
“I’m not a great fan of qualifying through the Europa League because I don’t think it’s right. If it’s an opportunity, we’ll have to try to take it as well. The priority is still to be in the Premier League.”