Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson rarely see eye to eye and yesterday was no exception, with the Arsenal manager refusing to accept that his team are out of the title race and his counterpart at Manchester United hinting that the Frenchman should throw in the towel.

Arsenal need to beat United at Old Trafford tomorrow, otherwise a season that promised so much will end in disappointment. Last week, Wenger was confident that his team could win two trophies but, after the Champions League defeat by Liverpool on Tuesday, the Barclays Premier League title is all his team have to play for. United are six points ahead of Arsenal with five matches to play, so victory is imperative for Wenger and his players.

“It will be the greatest achievement of my career if we win the title because we are swimming against the tide at the moment, but I still believe,” Wenger said yesterday. “For us, the game on Sunday is the game of the season. If we do not win this game, we have no chance.”

Wenger’s dream of a European and domestic double died at Anfield and, although he blames refereeing decisions for his team’s elimination from the Champions League, he is willing to accept his share of the blame if Arsenal fail to lift a trophy for the third consecutive season. Despite winning three titles in 11 years, Wenger has been criticised by some Arsenal supporters for not strengthening his squad during the January transfer window and for playing Kolo Touré out of position against Liverpool.

“I’m humble enough to accept I make mistakes and I will every year,” Wenger said. “I don’t mind that I’m questioned. I would prefer that I’m questioned rather than the players. I can handle that. I’m in a position where you have to accept being criticised. I don’t mind, but I have a fantastic belief in this team and I believe I will be proven right.”

Ferguson thinks that Arsenal need a minor miracle if they are to win the title. “It’s difficult for them because six points behind us and three points behind Chelsea with five games to go, that’s not a lot of leeway for them in the sense that they can’t afford to drop anything really,” the United manager said. “If I was in that position, I would be saying that we couldn’t afford to drop any points.”

Ferguson said that he sympathised with Wenger over Arsenal’s series of injuries, although he also suggested that the Frenchman has been treated more favourably in terms of media criticism than he would have been in similar circumstances.

Ferguson believes that Chelsea represent the greatest threat to United’s title ambitions and has expressed concern that Avram Grant’s team could have an advantage before their showdown at Stamford Bridge on April 26. United’s two Champions League semi-final ties against Bar-

celona fall three days either side of that match, whereas Chelsea play their first leg against Liverpool on April 22 and the second leg on April 30.

“Our fixtures are a bit more congested,” Ferguson said. “But there’s nothing we can do about that, I’m afraid. We have to prepare our players for the Saturday lunchtime fixture against Chelsea. We would prefer a better kick-off time for that, but we had a similar situation last year [for the derby match away to Manchester City] and that was refused, so there’s no point going down that road again.”

While United look forward to facing Barcelona and Thierry Henry this month, Arsenal have denied that they want to re-sign their former captain this summer, as suggested by reports in Spain. “That’s not something I’ve considered at the moment,” Wenger said. “I had him on the phone on Monday night and he seemed quite happy in Spain.”