Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn accepts that short of winning all their seven remaining games the Gunners title hopes are all but over. He told TEAMtalk: "I would think they are going to have to win every single game until the end of the season.
"Even then Manchester United are the big favourites because of their consistency this season.
"In these these last two or three weeks they're starting to come into their best form so it's a daunting task for Arsenal to overcome them.
"If you're in the situation Arsenal are in you've got to believe you can win the title and Arsenal will believe that but you would say Manchester United will have to have a massive collapse."
Winterburn agreed that performances suffered after Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham.
However, the 47-year-old believes it is harsh to put the blame squarely at Wenger's feet.
"The Carling Cup was so important for Arsenal because it would have given them that belief to win other things.
"But I find (criticism of Wenger) hard to understand because I've seen what happens from the inside.
"I've seen the way Arsene Wenger works and I've seen the rebuilding job he's done so I appreciate all of that.
"I understand that if you're a supporter you'll be saying 'it's all well and good to have good training facilities and a good stadium but we need to win something', and that is true.
"But rather than look at the manager you have to look at the players as well and ask have they let him down on a couple of occasions, and I think you can say they have.
"It's easy for us outside to look in and say he should have bought two or three more players but there's no guarantee that even buying those players will win you the title or a cup.
"If Arsene Wenger leaves in the next couple of seasons I would think several of those players as well so you've got to build a new team. So how long is it then going to take a new manager to win something?
"Even if that manager spends £60-70million, it doesn't mean you're going to be successful."
Regardless of how much money Wenger is given to spend, it is likely new American owner Stan Kroenke will want to see a return on his investment, and Winterburn accepts the pressure is on the Frenchman to deliver.
"The pressure is definitely on because they haven't won anything in six years and the supporters expect success," Winterburn said.
"I would think the board are saying to him that the club needs to be winning things but you need to understand the direction of the club.
"The club wants to be stable before any risk-reward scenario and Arsenal have made good profits over the last couple of years so maybe Arsene Wenger will spend more money this summer.
"But they are close, they are not as far away as people think.
"Winning the league isn't going to get any easier and winning cup competitions is going to get harder too but with two or possibly three more players I believe Arsenal will be right up there again next season and eventually, at some stage, they will cross that line and win the title."
