Arsene Wenger
Wenger is looking to make the most of the summer transfer window REUTERS

Arsene Wenger remains adamant that a top-four finish would constitute a successful campaign for Arsenal, after the club suffered a further setback in their tumultuous season last week.

Wenger's side are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League following the 4-0 mid-week loss in Milan. And Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Sunderland means the Gunners are likely to finish the season without a trophy for a seventh successive year.

Nevertheless, Wenger insists that qualification for next season's Champions League would be like winning a trophy following the club's rollercoaster campaign.

Arsenal are currently fourth in the Premier League, and Wenger has challenged his side to establish their top-four credentials ahead of upcoming matches against Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

"Our main target now is to focus on the championship," Wenger is quoted in the Telegraph. "People are always asking the same question, but the first trophy is to finish in the top four. That is vital for us. Let's win our next home game and we will be fine.

"A week ago, we won at Sunderland in the championship and that is our main target. Then we lost at AC Milan and then again here (at Sunderland). That's basically down to the fact that we had to give a lot on Wednesday night and then we had to travel again. That is difficult for any team in the world.

"We put a lot of spirit into this game against Sunderland and if we keep that spirit and recover a bit physically, then we can win that next game."

Injuries have been cited as a contributing factor in Arsenal's travails this season, but Wenger has insisted the club remains focused on their performance on the pitch and refused to blame absent players as the cause of their erratic form.

"We have what it takes at the club when everybody is available because we had many missing and big, big players, too," Wenger added. "We are in mid-February and Wilshere has played zero games, Diaby has played zero games and [Per] Mertesacker is out for the rest of the season. Santos is out for three months.

"That would be difficult for any club in the world to deal with. It's hard enough to lose one or two ­players and we have lost too many. But at the moment I believe we are not making plans for next season. We are making plans for the next game."