Pellegrini insists Manchester City's title hopes are still alive

Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City's title hopes are still alive despite seeing them slip to a fifth league defeat of the season at Arsenal.

City remain six points off Leicester at the top of the table and four adrift of Arsene Wenger's second-placed side after their 2-1 loss.

Pellegrini's men will have to break new ground if they are to collect a third crown in five years as no team in Premier League history has claimed one having lost five games before Christmas.

The Chilean maintains he is not concerned by that and is adamant he is only looking to what lies ahead.

Pellegrini told Sky Sports: "I am thinking about the future, not the past. I think that we have 63 more points to try to win.

"We are six and four points behind the two leaders, in this case Leicester and Arsenal, but we have a lot of games.

"With the way we played in the first half and parts of the second half, I think we are going to continue to be a very important team in the fight for the title.

"I don't worry about statistics. I am thinking about the future. When you have 63 points and you are four or five behind, I don't believe you should be in this profession."

Pellegrini bemoaned both his team's failure to capitalize on the opportunities they created and also the way Arsenal's goal came about despite them having fewer chances of their own.

Theo Walcott put the Londoners ahead before Olivier Giroud's second on the stroke of half-time and it was an effort the away manager considered a crucial blow.

He added: "I think the second goal was decisive. We played better than Arsenal but the first shot they had was the first goal.

"Before that, we had a clear option to score but we didn't and when you miss the option, normally they score in your goal.

"I think the second goal was very important because it was in the last minute from a mistake of our team.

"Of course, that makes it worse because I think we did better than Arsenal. We had more possession, more shots and more attempts but we didn't win the game.

"You must win. In the second half we took more risks and we also had options to get at least a draw. In these important games you cannot make some mistakes."

Sergio Aguero was quiet in his first game back after a heel problem and was replaced by the more effective Wilfried Bony in the second half but Pellegrini defended the Argentine striker.

He said: "For Sergio, it was important for him to return to the team. He worked the whole week with the squad and he will need a couple of games to return to his performances."