Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal can’t afford to waste any more points, if they are to achieve the “vital” objective of again qualifying for the Champions League.

Arsenal are currently fifth in the Premier League, five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, but with two games in hand. That comes after a strange month where they have only played one league game, a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, due to the amount of cup commitments.

“For us it’s vital, of course,” Wenger said. “It’s a strange championship because there’s no continuity at the moment - we’ve had games cancelled, after you play away, you don’t play, you play FA Cup and you play away again.

Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Petr Cech – 5 out of 10 Had very little to do throughout, aside from one strike from Arnold. AFP/Getty Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Kieran Gibbs – 6 out of 10 Impressed going forward and his deliveries opened up the Lincoln back four. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Laurent Koscielny – 7 out of 10 Held the shape well at the back, did his job and made light work of the Lincoln attacks. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Shkodran Mustafi – 5 out of 10 Struggled with the strength of Rhead – was simply not physical enough for him. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Hector Bellerin – 6 out of 10 Impressed going forward and played with with confidence, both on and off the ball. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Granit Xhaka – 6 out of 10 Battled relentlessly throughout and managed to keep the Lincoln midfield quiet. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Aaron Ramsey – 6 out of 10 Scored the fourth following a clever Sanchez cross. Worked well going forwards. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5 out of 10 Was subbed in the early stages of the game due to injury. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Theo Walcott – 7 out of 10 He looked clinical today and managed to open the scoring with a strike inside the box. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Olivier Giroud – 5 out of 10 Got himself on the scoresheet, but it was a quiet display overall. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alexis Sanchez – 7 out of 10 His late goal was an example of how he can make a goal out of nothing. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Paul Farman – 5 out of 10 Made a handful of important saves, but it’s never good to concede five. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Bradley Wood – 5 out of 10 Defended aggressively, but fairly. Was not afraid to put his body on the line. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Sean Raggett – 6 out of 10 Was well positioned and managed to defend a number of Arsenal crosses. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Luke Waterfall - 6 out of 10 He led by example at the back, but it just was not enough. Unlucky with the own goal. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Sam Habergham – 5 out of 10 He was outclassed – struggled to keep up with The Gunners pace going forward. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Nathan Arnold – 6 out of 10 Came close to scoring the opener, only to be denied by the finger tips of Cech. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alex Woodyard – 6 out of 10 The energetic midfielder showed a good understanding of the game, but could have assisted his strikers more. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Alan Power – 5 out of 10 Drifted in and out of the action. Quite simply he looked outclassed. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Terry Hawkridge – 5 out of 10 Defensively he tracked back well, but he failed to provide an outlet going forward. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Matt Rhead – 6 out of 10 Bullied the Arsenal defenders at times. Made it hard work at the back. Getty Images Arsenal 5 Lincoln 0 player ratings Jack Muldoon – 6 out of 10 Chased every over the top ball, but it just was not enough to make a real impact. Getty Images

"So you don’t really know where you stand. You have not the same number of games, you have not the continuity home and away. What is for sure is that we are in a position where we can’t waste points.

Asked what would constitute a successful season for Arsenal, Wenger said: “Success, it’s not down to me to judge that. I’ll leave that to you.

"Our job is to do as well as we can until the end of the season. We want to play in the Champions League next season. We have a tough job because we have six or seven teams fighting for the places and how well we do until the end of the season will of course depend on that.