Arsenal are currently joint first in the Premier League table.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has predicted to the Daily Mail that his team will need 86 points to win the Premier League title this year.
The Gunners have made a strong start to this season after finishing second to Leicester City last season.
They are currently unbeaten in seven games in the league, with the draw against Middlesbrough on Saturday bringing an end to a six-game winning streak.
Their run sees them sitting joint top of the table alongside Liverpool and Manchester City with all three having picked up 20 points from nine games so far.
Arsenal’s Theo Walcott celebrates scoring their first goal with Alexis Sanchez and Shkodran Mustafi
This year’s title race is likely to be a tight one, to say the least, and Wenger says he believes 86 points will be the tally that the winners need.
“After nine games the first trend is set, it’s about 20 points so the title will be decided between 82 and 86 points,” the Daily Mail reports him saying.
“Every game is a fight and absolutely you need to be at your best to have a chance to win. We have to be really focused on details, keeping the energy inside our club and at the top of every game. Every single detail can get you points.”
Arsenal’s Theo Walcott celebrates scoring their first goal with Alexis Sanchez
In truth Wenger probably has the right measure of it when predicting 86 points as the winning total this year.
Last season Leicester City won the league with a tally of 81 but before then Chelsea finished with 87, Manchester City 86 and Manchester United 89.
It shows that anything above 80 usually sees a team finish as champions and it remains to be seen if Arsenal can pick up that many.
It will certainly be a tough ask for them, with the last time Arsene Wenger’s side reached 80 points or more being all the way back in the 2007/08 season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
