Per Mertesacker has admitted that the Premier League title is not in Arsenal's hands, despite the team securing an eighth straight win in the league.

Aaron Ramsey scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Burnley yesterday, leaving the Gunners just four points behind league leaders Chelsea, who have two games in hand.

The defender told the club's website: "Its not in our hands anymore. They have a decent lead so it's very difficult for us at the moment, we're just focusing on ourselves and that has made us very strong in recent weeks.

"We are on a good run and Chelsea have been absolutely amazing this season, so we're trying to compete with them at the top. It's not in our hands anymore but we're trying to focus on ourselves.

"Great togetherness, great spirit and great cohesion is what makes us strong. Even if we have dropped points this season, we came back even stronger. At the moment we can't learn from defeat because of our great run, we have to learn from victories. There's a lot to improve but the win at Burnley is just about the result."

Arsenal host Chelsea in their next Premier League match after next weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Reading.