Arsene Wenger on finishing 3rd and next season

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he regrets not taking 3 points against Manchester United on Sunday (18 May), blaming the Gunners' slow start in the first half.

Arsenal are now 1 point off finishing third, with two games to play. When asked about finishing third, Wenger said: "Satisfaction is always a tricky question. If they'd asked me in October then I would have said yes. Overall of course you want to be first but 17 teams would exchange position with you. It is a continuity in our results and it is a platform to do better next season. That's our aim."

With transfer rumours in full swing, all the top teams will be vying for talent that'll make that key difference next season.

When asked how close Arsenal are to challenging for the title next year, Wenger said: "That's difficult to say because you don't know how strong the teams will be next year. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool will all be on the market so it's difficult to know. I believe that we've come out of the season and we feel we have made progress in the Premier League compared to last season because we were consistent against the smaller teams then but this season we are stronger against the big teams. That's a big platform to do better."

Arsenal face Sunderland at home on 20 May and West Brom at home on 24 May.