Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that his Manchester City side can still win the Premier League title.
Tonight's 2-1 reverse away at Arsenal was City's fifth defeat of the season and no side has gone on to be crowned champions after losing that number of games before Christmas Day.
However, the Chilean boss has stressed that there are plenty of points left for his team to win between now and the end of the campaign.
"There are 63 more points to win, a lot of games and the way we played in the second half shows that we will continue to fight for the title," he told Sky Sports News.
"I don't know about statistics, but of course we are not out of the title race. If you don't believe, you are not in the profession."
Third-placed City, who are six points adrift of leaders Leicester City, play host to Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day.
