Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand reckons the Gunners have left themselves with too much work to do after falling eight points behind leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal missed out on the chance to close the gap when they could only draw 1-1 at Middlesbrough over a weekend when all the sides above them also dropped points as they slipped down to fifth place behind Aston Villa.

However, Wenger's men have already beaten both direct rivals United and Chelsea, while the Reds come to Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners boss insists with half of the Premier League matches still to be played in 2009, his young side still have plenty left to play for.

"The team is improving, and if you look at the Middlesbrough game, we did have chances to score as well as being more stable defensively," said Wenger, speaking to the club's official website as part of their 'Be a Gooner, Be a Giver' campaign supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust which will see Arsenal players and directors donate a day's wages from the match with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

"I am confident we will come back and catch some ground before Christmas and then push on."

Wenger continued: "I believe this team is not far off and can get there as much as the team in 2004.

"That is the question we want to answer in the next month, to not only show that we have potential, but that we can respond to the expectation level of our fans.

"At the moment, we swim a bit against the stream because we do not feel that (outside) around the team has the same belief as we do inside.

"We can understand that and take in on board because we lost some games which we should not have lost.

"But we have a few months in front of us now to show we were right to believe in our strengths and that we can be compared to the teams of such a quality in 2004 and maybe even aim to be stronger."

The Gunners boss will continue to stay positive, even if the pundits continue to write them off as serious title challengers.

"The only thing you can do when you are under stress is to focus on what you do well, try to look at the problems and how to sort them out and forget about the consequences of it," he said.

"You have to live 100% in the present and not imagine the consequences in case of failure."

One of the toughest tasks Wenger has to perform this season was to strip William Gallas of the captaincy following outspoken comments criticising the desire of the young squad.

The Arsenal manager, though, feels the veteran defender has returned to the side refocused on his game, but accepts the whole incident will inevitably still weigh on his mind.

"On the human point of view, what happened with William was the toughest thing I had to deal with in my career because I regard him with a lot of esteem," Wenger told France-Football magazine.

"He was stuck into a media frenzy, a witch-hunt that isolated him so much that it was becoming a handicap for the team.

"Whatever he does, whatever he says, it's always twisted, amplified.

"He has recovered the balance regarding his football. But I'm not convinced that, in his head, he has recovered his balance and his joie de vivre.'

Elsewhere, striker Eduardo made his long-awaited comeback for the reserves against Portsmouth at Barnet's Underhill.

The Croatia international has not played since suffering a broken leg against Birmingham in February, but if all goes well he could be back in first-team contention early in the New Year.

Eduardo played the first half, before coming off as a precaution after feeling a twinge in his hamstring.

The Croatian was happy enough with his return to action in the 2-0 win, going close with one chance.

He told Arsenal TV: "I am feeling very happy to have started my first game in 10 months.

"I hope I can do more, and that next time will be better. I just felt something in my hamstring, but in two weeks, I will be all right."

Eduardo was also ruled out of Croatia'sEuro 2008 campaign and returned to his native Brazil for some recuperation work.

He said: "The injury was very hard for me, but I have had to forget everything bad in my life and went to do some treatment in Brazil where I saw my family and friends, which helped make me strong.

"The Arsenal fans and also in Croatia pushed me on. I have to thank all the medical staff as well."

The striker, though, maintained he would not now be rushed back into action.

"I need more training and games, and if everything is okay, then hopefully in two weeks I will be ready to play," Eduardo said.

"I just want to play like I did before, but maybe I can be better."