In his latest column for Sky Sports, Paul Merson says Mikel Arteta deserves respect for the job he has done at Arsenal and likens his former side’s challenge of dethroning Man City to that of a heavyweight boxing challenger beating Mike Tyson for the world title!

‘How will Arsenal recover if they don’t win league?’

Fair play to Arsenal, you’ve got to win games and they have gone to Spurs and won.

One of the main things about this victory is it is for the fans. It’s such an important game to the Arsenal supporters and the players got the job done.

What worries me, and I see Arsenal winning their next three games, is what happens if they do that but still don’t win the league? I don’t know how that will affect this Arsenal team for next season.

Last year, they came into this season, and everyone said they melted. They had something to prove and could go again.

Winning the next three games but not winning the league, they might start thinking what else can they do?

‘Inexperience still there for Gunners’

It was very nervous all because of the goalkeeper. It was a bad mistake and it just causes drama.

Tottenham fans are relieved because they think with another 10 minutes they might have got back in the game, but the only reason they got back in it was the goalkeeper, it’s as simple as that.

That’s what you have to do in the run-in, you’ve got to be alive in every minute of the game.

Something like that could have sent everything pear-shaped for Arsenal.

The message for Arsenal is to do the simple things well and the simple thing was for the goalkeeper to send the ball 60 yards down the pitch.

Even though you are 3-0 up it doesn’t mean you can take liberties with the other team because football changes like that, it changes so quickly.

That’s where Arsenal have to learn. They were cruising but then by the end, they were hanging on for dear life. That’s inexperience.

‘Respect must go to Arteta for job he’s done’

Mikel Arteta now has 100 Premier League wins in 169 games. He’s fifth fatest to that number of wins behind some stellar names of the Premier League.

Respect [for Arteta’s record]. They stuck with him and he got the chance. Arsenal were patient with him early on but he must have been winning football matches.

It’s an unbelievable record. He’s only seven games behind Sir Alex Ferguson and 10 games behind Jurgen Klopp, who we class as a legend.

Fair play to him, it’s phenomenal.

‘How can you beat Mike Tyson?!’

It’s all about timing.

If you are a heavyweight boxing challenger and Mike Tyson’s the champion, you aren’t winning the world title.

It’s a bit like that for Arsenal. They are just bang unlucky but they have to accept they could be the second-best team at this time.

If City weren’t about they probably win the league. It’s just about timing.

How many people won the 400m when Michael Johnson was about? No-one. That’s how it works.

‘Striker with electric pace can improve Gunners’

The other problem Arsenal have is how do they improve again next season?

It’s a bit like Tottenham a few years back. They had an unbelievable starting line-up but we all said they had to keep improving.

They had Harry Kane. If they wanted to sign a striker for £60m he wasn’t coming to just sit on the bench.

I do like Kai Havertz. He’s a top-drawer player, but I do feel like they need real electric pace up front that can turn it on for Arsenal.

Look at Haaland, he came on at Forest and the defence couldn’t believe it.

Arsenal haven’t really got that and they lost against Aston Villa because they didn’t have it.

‘We don’t give Man City enough credit’

I can’t see Man City not winning any of their remaining games.

Wolves have a couple of players back but they are struggling with injuries and are not at full strength yet.

Fulham on their day can cause problems. That could be the game. They are a team that might hurt City. They are a good football team and have players like Willian and Rodrigo Muniz. If you give them the chances Forest had, Fulham will cause you problems.

People will say don’t give up, but Man City are too good. They are proven.

They have done it so many times before and I feel they become a better team when they have to win a football match.

They get together and they win football matches.

Sometimes you watch them at the start of the season, and it is a bit boring. They go 1-0 up and just pass the ball forever. At this stage of the season, it’s different. Against Luton, they scored the first goal and then went on to try and score seven or eight.

They are so good, and we don’t give them enough credit for that. They are playing under severe pressure, and they keep on performing week in, week out.

Ad content | Stream Sky Sports on NOW

Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England Cricket and so much more.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!

You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!

Find out more here…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta reflects on his side’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham and how much a North London derby win means to him and the supporters.

Arsenal are a “far better team” than last season, according to Gary Neville, and will win their remaining three Premier League games, including their trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

The Gunners remain top of the Premier League after holding off a Spurs fightback to win 3-2 in a thrilling north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest ensures Pep Guardiola’s side remain masters of their own destiny, a point behind Arsenal in second place with a game in hand.

But Neville hailed Arsenal’s improved mentality after their victory over Spurs and feels they will push City until the last, with the title race potentially going to the wire.

“It’s a far better Arsenal team than last season, a far bigger mentality, a stronger mentality,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“People will point towards William Saliba [returning] and I will as well, but it’s more than that.

“There is a focus and discipline and attention to detail on the pitch in their defensive work – and six clean sheets on the bounce is a hell of an achievement in any season.

“They maybe had a bit of a wobble, the Villa game and obviously in the Champions League, but that can happen.

“They’ve got back on the bike and demonstrated that they have moved forward as a club, moved forward as a coaching team, moved forward as a group of players and are nowhere near the position they were in last season.”

‘Old Trafford trip the only doubt’

Arsenal’s remaining games pit them against Bournemouth and Everton at home, either side of a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Manchester City, meanwhile, face Wolves at home next, live on Sky Sports on Saturday, with away trips against Fulham and Tottenham before a home meeting with West Ham on the final day.

Neville believes the game against Erik ten Hag’s side could test Arsenal, despite their struggles this season, but ultimately he expects the Gunners to take maximum points from their run-in.

“You never know what is going to happen at Old Trafford and Old Trafford can be a graveyard for teams,” he said.

“Even with the way Manchester United are at the moment, you have to regard that as a massive match and a big game.

“Teams have won at Old Trafford that have been in the bottom half of the table, but teams in the top half of the table have gone there and struggled.

“Liverpool famously in the last month or two have lost an FA Cup quarter-final there and they drew in the league and that was probably the start of Liverpool’s downfall in terms of where they are now [compared to where they were then], in terms of dropping out of the title race and getting knocked out of the FA Cup.

“You can never underestimate a game at Old Trafford. If you look at a collection of matches it can be overwhelming, but if you look at the form that Arsenal have been in and the defensive stability they have had, it’s not because of team errors [that they conceded two goals against Spurs].

“I think they will achieve a 100 per cent record. The one doubt is the Old Trafford game. It will all depend for me on how City do in the next week or two as well.”

Neville: A good day for VAR

Neville also commented on the VAR flash points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, starting with the Micky van de Ven goal ruled out for offside in the first half.

“From one side, it looked like it was offside and from the other we weren’t sure but obviously it was. We can get wound up about offsides with VAR, but that’s the one I don’t get wound up about because there is a consistency to it.

“The point at which the ball is kicked and the sort of hairlines that they draw on, they are the same every week and I think we have just got to go with that. That is a positive intervention in the game I believe.”

Of the decision to penalise Rice for Tottenham’s penalty, after Tottenham’s initial appeals had been waved away, he added: “VAR was positively used in the second half where Michael Oliver, for him, made an error – I thought it was a big error for him.

“Imagine if VAR wasn’t there? So, in some ways VAR has had a good day. As much as it has got its challenges, it was a good day in terms of how it was operated.

“I struggle with it at times, fans hate it, managers and players are struggling with it a lot, but it has had a good day in terms of how it was operated. It’s either offside or it is not. There is no in-between there.”

Ad content | Stream Sky Sports on NOW

Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England Cricket and so much more.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!

You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!

Find out more here…

Premier League leaders Arsenal survived a second-half scare at Tottenham to hold on for a 3-2 north London derby victory that cemented their place at the top.

A 23-minute first-half blitz saw the Gunners race into a 3-0 lead through a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed own goal, Bukayo Saka finish and Kai Havertz header.

But with Mikel Arteta’s side in total control, a 64th-minute howler by goalkeeper David Raya allowed Cristian Romero to pull one back after the Spaniard sent a clearance straight to the defender.

An 87th-minute Heung-Min Son penalty then set up a nervy finish for the Gunners, who withstood Spurs’ late pressure to hold on for a potentially season-defining win that keeps their hopes alive of a first Premier League title in 20 years.

The victory had moved Arsenal four points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, but later the defending champions responded with a win at Nottingham Forest to close the gap back to a point with Pep Guardiola’s side having a game in hand.

Tottenham, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive defeat to fall seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in a further blow to their hopes of Champions League qualification.

How Gunners beat fierce rivals to keep title dreams alive

Arsenal made the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium full of confidence after the midweek thrashing of London rivals Chelsea, but amid an electric atmosphere it was Spurs who made a bright start

The Gunners, though, weathered the early pressure to take the lead in the 15th minute when Hojbjerg headed into his own net from Saka’s cross.

Spurs responded well as Cristian Romero headed against the post five minutes later and then in the 22nd minute the home side thought they had levelled when Micky Van de Ven hammered home, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR for a tight offside call.

Spurs then had two penalty claims denied in quick succession in the 27th minute as Dejan Kulusevski fell to a Leandro Trossard trip before James Maddison went down under a Declan Rice tackle.

The home side’s frustrations were immediately compounded as Arsenal launched a devastating counter-attack that saw Havertz brilliantly pick out Saka, who clinically finished low beyond Guglielmo Vicario.

Arsenal’s set-piece superiority then paid off again as Rice’s corner was headed in by Havertz for the Gunners’ 16th corner goal of the Premier League season – the most by a team in a single campaign since West Brom under Tony Pulis in 2016-17 (16).

With Arsenal in total control, Spurs pushed for a route back into the game but captain Heung-Min Son fired over just before half-time as the home side failed to have a shot on target.

A fine Vicario save from Saka’s close-range effort seven minutes into the second half prevented an Arsenal fourth.

Vicario’s opposite number Raya then handed Tottenham a route back into the game as he passed straight to Romero who fired past the embarrassed Spaniard.

Arsenal looked to have seen off Spurs’ pressure for a second until Rice kicked Ben Davies in the box and referee Michael Oliver was sent to the pitchside monitor, where he overturned his original decision to award the home side a penalty.

Son then powered home from the spot in the 87th minute to set up a nervy finish, which Arsenal handled well to claim a third straight win and keep alive their hopes of a first Premier League title in two decades.

Arteta on last 20 minutes: ‘Pray! And defend your box!’

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to Sky Sports:

“It’s a really tough place to come. Unbelievable atmosphere and a great team. We were super efficient in the first half, we were really well organised.

“We started the second half really well, in total control of the game, could have scored the fourth one. Then an individual error, and you can feel it, it’s game on. From there, you have to manage the game and have a bit of luck at times.

“We conceded the second one, again with a mistake that is not very usual. And then, pray! Defend your box. They threw everything. Romero was playing as a striker for the last 25-30 minutes and anything can happen.

“To win big things, you have to go through these moments. Super-happy because it’s a day to be proud, a day that means so much to our supporters. Hopefully they can enjoy a beautiful evening.”

Ange: First half not acceptable at this level

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou to Sky Sports:

“From our perspective, we allowed them way too easy access to our goal. They got there three or four times and scored three goals in the first half. It’s not acceptable at this level and we paid a price for it against a very good team.

“We showed resilience and fought back but we had to because there was no other choice. We couldn’t come out in the second half and not give our supporters a little bit of hope.

“We’re still not as resilient as we can be, particularly in those kinds of moments [in the first half] where there are transitions or set-pieces.”

Opta stats: Arsenal win consecutive games at Spurs for first time since 1988

• Arsenal have won consecutive top-flight away games against Spurs for the first time since September 1988 (a run of three under George Graham).
• This was the second-earliest 3-0 lead in a North London derby in the Premier League (38th minute), with the only quicker instance also being by Arsenal under Mikel Arteta (3-0 after 34 minutes in September 2021).
• Tottenham are the 16th different team to concede 50+ Premier League goals this term (52) – this is now the most sides to concede 50+ in an English top-flight season consisting of 20 clubs since 1909-10 (17).
• Three of Arsenal’s last seven goals in this fixture in the Premier League have been own goals by Spurs players.
• Bukayo Saka has scored 15 goals for Arsenal in the Premier League this season, his most in a single campaign. With his strike today, he also became the first English player to score home and away for Arsenal against Spurs in a league campaign since Ian Wright in 1993-94.
• Kai Havertz has scored and assisted in four different Premier League games this season; the most by an Arsenal player in a single campaign since Alexis Sánchez in 2016-17 (4).

What’s next?

Arsenal host Bournemouth on May 4, kick-off 12.30pm, while Tottenham face a London derby against Chelsea on Thursday, May 2, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 7.30pm.

Ad content | Stream Sky Sports on NOW

Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England Cricket and so much more.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!

You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!

Find out more here.

Skip to content