Chelsea are not title favourites, says Wenger

Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea are candidates to win the Premier League, but does not feel any team has earned the right to be called favourites.

Chelsea sit top of the table after 15 matches, three points clear of Arsenal and on a winning streak of nine consecutive top-flight matches.

But Arsenal themselves have not suffered a league defeat since the opening day against Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp’s side, Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United making up the rest of the top six.

And Gunners boss Wenger thinks the title race remains wide open, with consistency over the busy festive period vital to any side's hopes of glory.

"What I believe is they [Chelsea] will be one of the candidates," Wenger said ahead of his side's trip to Everton on Tuesday.

"They are of course one of the teams doing extremely well, but there is no super favourite in there at the moment.

"They will have to maintain that like everybody else at the top. When you look at the league it is down to consistency.

"It is very open, very interesting. Every time a team is the favourites to win, they struggle.

"When you look at the teams around us, you can see the margin of difference between the teams has shrunk a lot.

"The way you respond in every game is absolutely vital. It's a very important period where everybody has to be absolutely focused on our results and the way we want to play."