Arsenal

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Cesc Fabregas believes Mikel Arteta has been able to imprint his ideas fully into Arsenal and that they are now reaping the rewards.

Speaking on BBC Sounds' Planet Premier League podcast Fabregas said: "I've seen with my own eyes what Mikel is trying to do around the training ground and the culture of working - if you don't run, you don't play.

"When you have this message constantly for four years and you know that it's actually true that if you don't work your socks off - you don't play. I think it helps."

Arsenal have a chance of winning their first Premier League title since 2003-04 and Fabregas, who played for the club between 2003 and 2011, has been impressed with what Arteta has done at the club: "They've created this DNA, this culture, these standards - it's fantastic to see.

"To beat Arsenal you need to be very good in the final third in terms of quality - you will need to be very powerful physically because they run their socks off and they are a very, very complete team.

"I'm not surprised because I know his message and he's transferred this to the team very well and in a very smart manner."

The Gunners have conceded the least amount of goals and kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League this season and former Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha thinks their defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba are key to their success:

"They work really well together," he said. "You can see their games really compliment each other. They're super aggressive but they can be - because they know they've got cover.

"They don't do things as individuals. They've got good size, good speed and a good reading of the game.

"Having a left sided centre-back also makes a big difference. They see the game in a different way to a right side that's always looking across the other way and who has that anxiety about opening up to the left side."

He added: "Availability sometimes is your best ability when they can form that partnership - they can have seasons like the one they've just had."

Listen to the whole episode on BBC Sounds

Leandro Trossard has been a game-changer for Arsenal in their fight to sustain the pressure on Manchester City at the Premier League summit.

With 12 league goals this season, he is only behind Bukayo Saka in the Gunners' scoring charts.

On Sunday, the Belgian was at it again, poking home to give Arsenal a rare victory at Old Trafford. If City slip up, that goal could go down in history as the one that clinched the league for Arsenal.

His ability to deliver when it counts and play in multiple roles has injected Arsenal with the extra edge they need to compete at the top.

Since his arrival last January, which was somewhat understated by the media and pundits, he has put in a series of top performances in midfield, off the left and as a centre forward.

His adaptability, consistency and attitude have made him a key part of this squad, so much so that he has displaced both Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus in the starting line-up.

As Arsenal start to plan for a summer of squad refinements, one thing is for sure - Trossard will be going nowhere.

Oli Price-Bates can be found at The Fresh Arsenal podcast, external

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"I'm wearing all Tottenham white right now," proclaimed former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"I expect Manchester City to win but also expect Tottenham to go out there and perform. Being at their home ground, they'll want to perform. You want to be in good habits and I think Postecoglou will get them in good habits for next year."

There is much talk about how Tottenham will approach Tuesday's game against the champions, knowing were they to lose, they'd severely dent the title hopes of their great rivals Arsenal.

Monday Night Club's Chris Sutton famously went to Anfield when playing for Blackburn on the final day of the 1994-95 season, when talk was rife that Liverpool would slacken off in order for Sutton's team to beat Manchester United to the title.

Liverpool won the game 2-1 but Blackburn still clinched the title as Manchester United were unable to win at West Ham.

Sutton said: "Everybody thought because of the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United, that Liverpool were going to chuck it basically. That was never going to be the case. We were really hoping they were going to chuck it, of course we were. But nobody wants to lose a game. You go out with the intention of winning. That will be the same for these Tottenham players.

"I get it as a Spurs supporter that they don't want Arsenal to win the league. It's a great game for a Tottenham fan as they go to the stadium and they can't lose in many respects - they end up beating City which is a feather in the cap and if they end up losing, Arsenal won't win the league."

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily here

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How will Arsenal’s players feel if they fall short of the Premier League title?

Manchester City remain one point behind the Gunners but will play their game in hand on Tuesday night at Tottenham. Yet even if City do lose in North London, the title will still go down to the final game of the season.

Former striker Theo Walcott says he can not see Pep Guardiola's side dropping points in their last two games and added it is a "frustrating" way to lose for Mikel Arteta's side.

"They are doing everything right to try and stop Manchester City from winning the title," said Walcott on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily Podcast. "But this City team are built for this.

"They have been in this situation numerous times but Arsenal are doing what everyone else wants to see and that is compete until the end.

"They are doing everything they can but, I still think City will win all of their games and so will Arsenal so that will just be frustrating."

Arsenal could finish this season on 89 points if they defeat Everton on Sunday, but would still fall short by two points if City win their final two games against Tottenham and West Ham.

"They can be proud," added Chris Sutton.

"It is going to be close and I still hope they win it because I am sick of City having it all their own way. But they are just so good.

"Arsenal have been virtually flawless and they will still finish second. That is amazing but you wonder next year whether they can go again because it could be psychosocially damaging."

Listen to the full discussion on the Monday Night Club

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It was only 1-0 for Arsenal against Manchester United, but you always knew the Gunners would have enough to take the points. At least United weren’t completely embarrassed this time out, though their defence is still as leaky as the stadium roof with Casemiro at the back.

Arsenal continue to be impressive; another clean sheet means they have shipped only six goals in just shy of their last 24 hours of Premier League football. Astonishing work at this level. Up front, Kai Havertz continues to show his importance and his intelligence and yet it still all comes down to Tuesday night.

Can, will or would Spurs do their great north London rivals a favour when they face Manchester City?

It is possible Spurs could get something, even a point would do Arsenal, and Ange Postecoglou’s men looked better than they have of late in winning against Burnley. However, every Arsenal fan I know wishes it was anyone other than Spurs holding their title hopes in their hands.

Personally I think the Lilywhites will give it their all, the problem is, even that is unlikely to be enough.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter

The New York Times' Rory Smith believes "the silver lining outweighs the cloud," in a situation like the one Tottenham face when playing Manchester City tonight.

Tottenham could help their bitter rivals Arsenal remain at the top of the table if they are able to prevent Manchester City getting all three points in tonight's fixture. But, manager Ange Postecoglou believes "100% of Spurs supporters" want Tottenham to win the game.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Rory Smith said there is "absolutely" a great deal of pain for football fans to see their rivals doing well.

"Spite is an incredible driver of human ingenuity - it's bad that people think like that," said Smith.

"That is how fans think. I have been in a similar situation with a team I support and it's not like you want your team to lose. Just when it happens, you notice it doesn't hurt - because the silver lining outweighs the cloud."

He added: "Postecoglou will want to win and he will want the stadium to be with Spurs - I don't know if it will be. I think the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium will be really deeply weird."

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton then said if you were the Tottenham player who scored the goal to help Arsenal win the league title that "in years to come maybe that player won't be getting many after dinner events".

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott said "hopefully it's [Heung Min] Son."

"Everyone loves a bit of Son - I'll take him at Arsenal. He can score and then come to Arsenal no problem," said Walcott.

Walcott, who played for Arsenal for 12 years between 2006-2018, scored for Southampton against the Gunners (who at the time were top of the league) last season in a 3-3 draw and says he still has Arsenal fans coming up to him saying "Theo, we can't forgive you for that."

"I served you for 12/13 years and you can't forgive me for trying to keep the Saints up - it wasn't the case. But it's a strange feeling," he said.

Listen to the whole episode of the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott believes even if they can not go all the way this season and win the Premier League title, "they will be even better" in the next campaign.

Arsenal have won 15 of their past 17 league games to make it as difficult as possible for Manchester City to defend their title, but more importantly away from the results things have changed for the better too.

"You have to give credit to Mikel Arteta because he has changed the whole set up at Arsenal," said Walcott on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily Podcast.

"The stadium atmosphere by the fans' reflects belief and that is the main thing for them now. But of course recently it is draining for them too.

"They will be even better next year. Of course Manchester City will be too, but it will make for another interesting competition for everyone again."

Listen to the Football Daily Podcast on BBC Sounds

Arsenal are set to lose promising defender Reuell Walters, 19, after the England Under-20 international rejected the offer of a fresh contract to pursue opportunities elsewhere. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, 43, is being targeted by several Championship clubs to take over as manager. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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When I read back the notes I’d made about Arsenal during Sunday’s win over Manchester United, it was like a checklist of what it takes to be champions.

Mikel Arteta’s side had the mindset that meant they were able to handle the occasion, take control of the game and then see it out with the kind of defensive discipline and determination that has enabled them to keep 18 clean sheets in the Premier League this season.

When I was a Gunners player, winning at Old Trafford usually meant we also won the title too.

We will have to wait and see whether that is the case this year but, whatever happens now, Arsenal have shown fantastic mental resolve to get this far and overcome the obstacles they fell at last time.

They have won 15 of their past 17 Premier League games to make it as difficult as possible for Manchester City to defend their crown, going into the final week of the season.

The pressure was on the Gunners against United, and you could feel that tension in their performance. I think the history of this fixture was a big part of that, because there have been some huge games between these two teams down the years - I know, because I played in a few of them.

It all meant Arsenal were not at their best but sometimes when you are in a title race, you just have get through days like that and grind out the result, and they were so professional in the way they went about it.

I thought they were immense at the back, especially the two centre-halves, Gabriel and William Saliba, who were outstanding again.

Read Martin Keown's full analysis here

We asked for your views on Sunday's match between Manchester United and Arsenal.

Here are some of your answers:

Manchester United fans

Andy: Wow! How was that 1-0? United awful, disjointed, disappointed - just three adjectives I can think of. Luckily I was watching on TV but imagine spending good money to watch this team. I’m sorry but don’t blame injuries. This team is poor and lack confidence, direction and consistency. Worst team ever and I started watching them in 1972.

Ramesh: Very poor performance by Manchester United. Sad to see this United team playing like school boys.

Moeed: Chaotic, disorganised, confused. Those words summed up Manchester United's team performance today, except for the likes of Garnacho, Diallo and Dalot. Those three weren't even exceptional, they just showed the standard which would probably be labelled as average in a side like Manchester City or Liverpool. Huge reset needed this summer immediately!

James: Manchester deserve to be where they are, best of the mid-table in the Premier League. They have not played well enough to deserve European football. There are six players who deserve to be in that dressing room, the rest belong in Sunday league.

Arsenal fans

James: Sub-par performance, not enjoyable in the slightest, but a win. Some lazy passes when they ought to be more smooth. Not a good United team so perhaps a missed opportunity for the goal difference. But we’ve taken it to the last day, which is the very least I could have asked for before kick off.

Martin: Very nervy and as sloppy as I've seen Arsenal all season but our defence came through again, and United didn't have the quality to hurt us. Feels bad to depend on Tottenham, but that's where we are. Just get that win against Everton and see what happens.

Peter: The worst I've seen Arsenal play this season. They struggled to put two passes together. We were lucky it was United we were playing.

David: Arsenal never really looked at it. They seemed nervous and very unlike the Arsenal we all know. The players seemed nervous and very unsettled. They knew a win would take it to the last day so I think it played on their minds.

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Arsenal kept their 18th clean sheet of the season in Sunday's 1-0 win at Manchester United - a tally five higher than any other club in the Premier League this season.

The victory at Old Trafford ensured that the Gunners will have a chance of lifting the title on the final day of the campaign, regardless of Manchester City's result when they play their game in hand against Tottenham on Tuesday.

On BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, ESPN journalist Mark Ogden said: "They've been doing what title-winning teams do - they've got results without playing as well as you'd expect them to.

"With Arsenal, everyone is blinded by the Invincibles team [of 2003-04] and the Arsene Wenger teams that were brilliant to watch and won by two or three goals away from home, but this is a bit more like the George Graham Arsenal. [On Sunday] there were two banks of four against a Manchester United team that hasn't got a cutting edge, and they were so rigid defensively, but that's what you need in a title-winning team.

"That's what Arteta has done really well - he's taken away that soft centre that Arsenal had for so long and he's made them tough to beat. That is the building block of any title-winning team. We can talk about the goals they score and how exciting some teams are, but if you can't defend, you can't win anything."

Listen to more analysis on BBC Sounds

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's Premier League action.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Saturday's games on Match of the Day here.

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentary in full:

• Manchester United v Arsenal

Arsenal's hopes of signing 24-year-old Newcastle striker Alexander Isak this summer could be scuppered by Liverpool who are interested in his 23-year-old team-mate Anthony Gordon. (Express), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Mikel Arteta spoke to BBC Sport after victory against Manchester United: "We needed a result today in a really difficult place. Our history was not in favour of a result today, there was so much at stake and we're happy with the result.

"We started the game really well and were dominant. We scored the goal and I think the goal led to slightly bad things because we started to play too safe, too sideways, too backwards with not enough structure.

"We started to give the ball away in good areas and that is a danger against them. But we defended well and didn't concede too much."

• Arsenal have won three successive Premier League games against Manchester United for the first time since September 1998, while this season is just the fourth time they’ve done the double over them, after 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2006-07.

• Manchester United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), while their nine defeats at Old Trafford this term is their joint-most at home in a season, along with 1920-21, 1930-31, 1933-34, 1962-63 and 1973-74.

• Arsenal’s win at Old Trafford was their 27th in the Premier League this season, only winning more league games in a campaign in the top-flight in 1970-71 (29) and 1930-31 (28).

• Manchester United have conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions for the first time since October 2021, while the 82 goals they’ve conceded this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).

• Only Cole Palmer (19) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals in 2024 than Arsenal’s Kai Havertz (14 – 8 goals, 6 assists), with eight of those involvements coming away from home (4 goals, 4 assists), bettered only by Kevin De Bruyne (11).

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A huge cheer from the away end greeted the final whistle in this often hot-tempered and closely fought encounter.

This wasn't the big win that many perhaps predicted before kick-off but Arsenal dug in and ground it out against one of their fiercest rivals to ensure they take the title race to the final day.

The Gunners did show nerves at times, understandable given what was at stake, but in the end Leandro Trossard's first-half goal was enough to put them back on top of the table.

They may still fall short, given the relentlessness of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, but Mikel Arteta's side are doing all they can, and the fans cannot ask for much more than that.

The pressure is now back on Manchester City, who head to Arsenal's rivals Tottenham on Tuesday.