Gary Neville claims Arsenal’s title hunt will end in tears as Cesc Fabregas maddens Arteta and delivers a sensational verdict on Leandro Trossard

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Cesc Fabregas insists the belief Mikel Arteta has instilled in Arsenal gives the club a real chance at Premier League glory – although Gary Neville has issued a stern warning about the threat from Manchester City.

Arsenal were forced to go deep in a 3-2 win over Manchester United on Sunday. Finding themselves 1-0 down, they fought back to lead 2-1, only for United to hold it again. With the match close to a stalemate, Eddie Nketiah’s innate finishing in the closing stages secured victory.

This means Arsenal’s 16th win in 19 games this season. More importantly, it restores their lead at the top to five points.

The win certainly pleased Arteta as it revealed what he loves most about success over Erik Ten Hag’s side.

Arsenal are now seen by many as the favorites for the title, and Fabregas believes Arteta deserves all the credit for changing perceptions at the Emirates Stadium.

“He did a great job,” Fabregas told Sky Sports. “We saw in the documentary that they did it; the way he pushed the players and the way he understood the players.

We’ve been talking about the project before. When they appointed Arsenal Mikel had never coached anyone before, he was Pep’s assistant [Guardiola]… When you’re the main guy, you need to do everything.

“I was lucky enough to be on the training ground recently, I felt like I hadn’t been there before because everything changed so much.

“The training ground manager told me it was 95 per cent from Mikel, who changed everything.

“It changed everything. The perception of the club over the last few years, lots of positive messages about the training ground, much bigger facilities, better equipment, pitches, you name it.”

Gary Neville makes grim verdict on Arsenal title

“Also I think at the entrance you have a token of an empty Premier League trophy and he wants to show the message ‘Guys, we just need to put it there. “

“Every day the players go out there, they see it without it being just a symbol so it’s a message and an inspiration every day to go out there and prove you want to put the Premier League out there.

“He has changed the mentality of the club since Arsene [Wenger] He left and it’s great what he did.”

Despite Fabregas’ optimism about Arteta and what he’s done for Arsenal, Gary Neville isn’t entirely convinced.

He is convinced that their title dreams will be destroyed by Manchester City, who he believes will eventually eliminate them.

“I don’t see them continuing to win the league,” Neville told Sky Sports. “Manchester City for me will win the league because I think Manchester City has had a special run in it.

“I think at some point in the season Arsenal will lose a game or two and City will be on their shoulders and it will become very difficult for them.

“But they can win the league and say they can; I thought they wouldn’t be close to winning the league, Arsenal. I can’t believe they’re in the chat. The fact that they’re in the chat to win the league is unbelievable.”

“It’s not a negative thing for me to say I think City will win the league – we all said that at the start of the season – and I think City will chase them.

“But they are screaming and that is unbelievable for Mikel Arteta. I was really worried about him at the end of last season.”

Leandro Trossard earned Fabregas’ praise

Having amassed 50 points at the halfway point, you can see where Arsenal’s record stands against previous records here.

Fabregas believes new signing Leandro Trossard – who signed in a £27m deal from Brighton on Friday – could give Arsenal another exciting option.

Arsenal moved to the Belgian after missing out on Mykhailo Modric, who moved to Chelsea instead.

And with both players making their debuts this weekend, Fabregas believes Arsenal have landed a “really good player”.

He completed just two dribbles and four passes after being introduced in the 82nd minute. But Fabregas had seen enough of him in his time at Brighton to know Arsenal had got a special player.

When asked what he thought of him, he said: “I think Trossard is a really good player. And he’s better than people think at the moment.”

“He showed it at Brighton and he showed it today for a few minutes. He’s different from what they have. He plays between the lines, he can score goals, he plays in different positions up front.”

READ MORE: Arsenal agree on the fine print of January’s next big transfers with Fabrizio Romano announcing massive update

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