Arsene Wenger has claimed the Premier League is the best in the world - and that his Arsenal are good enough to win it this season.

Wenger feels it is the most entertaining league campaign for years and says fans are enjoying the topsy-turvy battle because “seven or eight teams” are involved in a wide-open title race.

Gunners boss Wenger watched Leicester’s goalless draw with Manchester City on Tuesday and was surprised the TV coverage ended with pundits questioning the quality of the Premier League and asking whether any of the title challengers wanted to win it.

Leicester are the surprise package as they finish 2015 joint top with leaders Arsenal a year after being last, while big clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool are behind the likes of Crystal Palace.

“I heard, for example, you have this cliche with people saying, 'Nobody wants to win this league,'" said Wenger, whose men entertain struggling Newcastle on New Year's Day. “I can say everybody wants to win it.

“If you were in the game you would know everybody wants to win it, but it’s difficult.

In pictures — Arsenal go top by beating Bournemouth:

“How do you measure if it’s the best league in the world? On entertainment? Look at the audiences of the Premier League and of the rest of the world, then you come to give me and answer, it’s yes. At the end of the day, public opinion decides that.

"When, for example, we played Olympiacos they were 13 points in front of the second place [side in Greece] — they played 13 games and had 13 wins. In France, Paris Saint-Germain are 19 points in front.

"If you have that everybody will say it’s boring and it is better you have the situation we have today where seven or eight teams can win it.”

Wenger has won the title three times as Arsenal manager, winning the Double in 1998 and 2002 before creating Premier League history in 2004 by becoming the first unbeaten champions with the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell.

Can't be beat: Arsenal won the title without losing a game in 2004, but haven't done it since (
Image:
Getty)

And he claims Arsenal are strong enough to lead the title charge from the front in the coming months.

“I don’t know (on the quality), I don’t analyse that,” said Wenger. “My only worry is how I can win the next game. Your job [in the media] is to analyse that. It is not my job.

“Being top on goal difference doesn’t make a big difference, it is just down to how well you play. After that it is reassuring to know that if your performances are right you do not need bad results from somebody else. That is one less stress.

“It is a bad thing in our job - we always want to be successful and we wish that the others are not. That is not a very good feeling in our position. Once you are first you can just focus on your performance.

Watch — Wenger's pre-Newcastle press conference in full:

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“I’m confident we will fight to stay there. It is a long way to go - we are only halfway. Everybody wants to predict who will win it at halfway and that is unfortunately, even for the most intelligent people, impossible.

“I believe that we are mature enough and that we have the requested quality to fight and compete. The most important thing is to feel, at the end of the season, that we have given absolutely everything to be successful.

“After that, if somebody has been better than us, we will accept it, but we want to fight to show that we have a chance.”

This will be the fourth time in the the last 14 years that Arsenal have started the calendar year on top of the table. On the previous three occasions, they failed to end the campaign as champions.

It’s a stat, and a worry, that Wenger paid little attention to.

Catch us if you can: Leicester and Man City are second and third behind Arsenal (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

He added: “Maybe we were top the three previous times because the other teams did not play at full power and we did. But Man United had huge potential over the years.

“We played Liverpool at a time when they had Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle of the park. Look at what all these players have won since. They had fantastic teams.

“Man United had Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs over the period and you see what these players have done — fantastic teams and potential.

“But only one team won the league without losing a game. That is Arsenal Football Club. It is not the date (New Year’s Day) that is decided you win the league.

“It shows you that we have a good chance, because the statistics also show you that eight of the past 11 years the team who was top on New Year’s Day won it.”

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The Premier League's 2015 table

Based on results in this calendar year

P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Arsenal 38 25 6 7 70 31 +39 81
2. Manchester City 38 22 6 10 79 41 +38 72
3. Tottenham 38 19 11 8 67 44 +23 68
4. Leicester 38 19 10 9 66 49 +17 67
5. Manchester United 38 18 10 10 51 34 +17 64
6. Liverpool 38 18 10 10 48 45 +3 64
7. Crystal Palace 38 19 6 13 50 37 +13 63
8. Chelsea 38 17 10 11 55 47 +8 61
9. Stoke 38 16 10 12 47 41 +6 58
10. Everton 38 13 13 12 54 47 +7 52
11. Southampton 38 14 9 15 48 41 +7 51
12. West Bromwich 38 13 11 14 38 47 -9 50
13. Swansea 38 12 11 15 38 50 -12 47
14. West Ham 38 10 15 13 42 47 -5 45
15. Sunderland 38 7 9 22 34 64 -30 30
16. Newcastle 38 7 9 22 37 69 -32 30
17. Watford 19 8 5 6 24 20 +4 29
18. Aston Villa 38 6 7 25 35 69 -34 25
19. Norwich 19 5 5 9 22 32 -10 20
20. Bournemouth 19 5 5 9 22 34 -12 20
21. Hull 19 5 4 10 15 25 -10 19
22. Burnley 19 4 5 10 14 24 -10 17
23. Queens Park Rangers 19 3 3 13 21 39 -18 12