Wenger: Porto is in the past, we're focusing on the league

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
13 Dec	12:45 PM	P	Middlesbrough (A)	1	1	Draw

Manager Arsène Wenger has said that the priority of the club now is to start climbing up the leage table, and the first step in that is to forget about the match against FC Porto.

Wenger was criticised for leaving a number of first team players in London and thus surrendering top spot in the qualifying group to the Portugese.

But Wenger says that this was because he had to prioritise the match against Middlesbrough this weekend, which has been brought forward for television coverage.

The Frenchman said: "It is linked with potential, talent and quality around you - you have to accept the form of the day.

"I don't give any consideration to the game [on Wednesday] but what is important is that we beat Chelsea, we beat Wigan and that we continue to win. [Porto] was a special game under special circumstances.

"Since I've been in football, when you don't win it is because you don't want to. It is those who want to that do it and those who don't do it, it is because they cannot.

"The culture is always the same, it is based on who does not want to be a star and who does not want to be the best in the game - but everybody does.

"It is a difficult schedule but that is why I made the decision to get everybody in the best possible shape for the game on Saturday.

"We had to prioritise and we were in the situation where we could prioritise one of the games. That shows that we do not think the Premier League is over and we think, more than ever, that we can come back in the Premier League. That is why I made that choice.

"I don't have any control [over the scheduling of games]. I would not like control because why should I have that privilege but not Mancheater United or Chelsea or Liverpool or Aston Villa or I don't know who?

"We just hope that it is fair. The coincidence this year is that it was a bit harder for us than for everybody else."

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