A day after Manchester City swept past Leeds United 1-0, Arsenal kept the race for the Premier League lead exciting by brushing aside Chelsea 2-1 in the North vs West London derby to restore a five-point lead at the top of the standings.
William Saliba scored the opening goal for the Gunners before an own goal by Piero Hincapié resulted in a 1-1 equaliser in the first half. It was Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute goal that decided the fate of the game as Mikel Arteta took all three points from the game at home.
Former England footballer Gary Neville praised Arsenal’s response to that last-minute heartbreak at Molineux Stadium, where the Gunners had to share the spoils with last-placed, struggling Wolves.
Neville said Arteta’s side’s resilience would get them over the line in a close title race against Man City in the final nine games of the season. “They have quality, physical strength and experience of the last three years of losing it,” he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “They have to look back on the last three years. They know this is going to be hard work. They’ve got 10 more weeks of pain, these Arsenal fans watching in the crowd, watching at home sometimes when they’re away.”
He continued: “This is not going to be pleasant, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be anxious but they’ve got to enjoy the thrill of it, that’s why they’re here.”
“Every single time we come to Arsenal, and we’ve done this for a number of years – we go over to that 2004 year that’s over there, halfway up across the stand and say they haven’t won the league for 22 years. They have got to try to get rid of that. In the last three years they’ve been up against City and Liverpool, and they’ve lost out in those battles. They’ve got to call upon the experiences they’ve had and dig in like you wouldn’t believe – and they’re doing that.”
“The one worry other than injuries and number of games is being up against Pep Guardiola’s machine, who have won titles. Gabriel Jesus has won the Premier League but he doesn’t look like the kind of type who’s going to get the players over the line on his own. The one question you would have is who is the player in that dressing room settling everyone down, composing them. We had a lot of experienced winners, and it is hard work but I do think they’ll get there,” Neville was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Arsenal will face Brighton in the next league game before they take on Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round clash.
