Per - I'm not thinking about title race

Per Mertesacker insists Arsenal are not thinking about the title race after securing second place for another week by beating Burnley.

The Gunners are now four points behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League ahead of the Blues’ clash with Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho’s side also have to face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in April, but Mertesacker says the Gunners are only focusing on their own results.

“It’s not in our hands anymore,” the World Cup winner explained. “They have a decent lead so it’s very difficult for us at the moment, we’re just focusing on ourselves and that has made us very strong in recent weeks.

“It has been a fantastic journey throughout the whole season but at the moment we are quite sharp and we’re trying to take advantage of that. We want to try to continue that because it makes us stronger and gives us a lot of credit and respect.

“We are on a good run and Chelsea have been absolutely amazing this season, so we’re trying to compete with them at the top. It’s not in our hands anymore but we’re trying to focus on ourselves.

“Great togetherness, great spirit and great cohesion is what makes us strong. Even if we have dropped points this season, we came back even stronger.

“At the moment we can’t learn from defeat because of our great run, we have to learn from victories. There’s a lot to improve but the win at Burnley is just about the result.”