Wenger - Next year's race will be close

Arsene Wenger is expecting the Premier League title race to be a lot closer next season.

Arsenal currently sit third in the table, three points clear of Sunday’s opponents Manchester United but 14 behind champions Chelsea - and Wenger believes the top four will strengthen over the summer.

“We have that feeling [that we can challenge next season] in the squad but it’s still a question because we are behind Chelsea and behind with a pack of Man City and Man United,” the manager said. "We go into the uncertainty of how strong will they be next season. Nobody knows that.

“Chelsea made a big leap this year because they’ve lost just two games. So you must say that is a massive leap to what they did last season. But they had good cohesion at the back and went into the season having brought in Diego Costa. He and Cesc Fabregas gave them a big boost.

“But I think you feel the strength of the [Chelsea] team when you play against them. And I think we’ll fight against them and it’ll be tight against them next season for everybody because Liverpool will respond as well."

Wenger could enter the transfer market this summer but he knows that squad improvement is an internal issue as well.

“You can always look at possible areas where you can strengthen but sometimes in your own team the cohesion is important as well," he said. "And that is linked to the type of players that play together.

“Sometimes it’s less risky [to bring players in] but where the heart of the team is, the fact they play together for a long time is very important as well.

"We just spoke about Chelsea. They have a stable defence that has played together for two or three years now. And they conceded fewer goals than the other teams.”