LONDON: Premier League leaders Arsenal have had their title credentials questioned all season but their last-gasp 3-2 win against Manchester United has silenced many of the remaining doubters.

Eddie Nketiah scored the winner in the dying moments of a pulsating match at the Emirates on Sunday as the home fans were infused with fresh belief that this could be their year.

The game against in-form United was seen as a critical test for the Gunners, especially after Manchester City closed the gap at the top of the table to just two points earlier in the day.

It was a challenge they did not fluff, hitting back hard after conceding the first goal, scored by Marcus Rashford, and staying calm after Lisandro Martinez cancelled out Bukayo Saka’s strike in the second half.

Arsenal, who have made their best-ever start to an English top-flight season, now have 50 points after 19 games — five clear of defending champions City with a game in hand at the halfway point of the campaign.

“I don’t think it gets much better than that,” said a buoyant Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. “It was a beautiful moment, a really special one because we were pushing and pushing and pushing and the goal wasn’t coming and it came at the end... it was just electric. It was really emotional, really passionate and I lost it.”

Arteta said he hopes the result, which follows last week’s 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby, gives his team the belief that Arsenal can be crowned league champions for the first time since 2004.

But he wants to keep his team’s feet on the ground despite a remarkable season in which they have lost just once in the league.

“We know our reality, we know how much we still have to improve,” said the Spaniard, who was previously Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City.

Arsenal face the defending champions in the middle of next month but their upcoming fixtures all look winnable and it is getting increasingly difficult to see where they will slip up.

Leaving the match against City aside, Arsenal’s next opponents in the league are relegation-threatened Everton, Brentford, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Bournemouth, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Leeds United.

City, with title-winning pedigree, appear to have found their form again after a wobble and the sides at the bottom of the table will fight for their lives as the trap door looms.

But former Arsenal captain Arteta has transformed his side from also-rans last season into title favourites, through luck and judgement.

NKETIAH RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

Saka has gone from strength to strength while Nketiah has stepped up in the absence of new signing Gabriel Jesus, injured while playing for Brazil at the World Cup.

It took Nketiah a while to establish himself at Arsenal having made his debut in 2017 and he was loaned out to Leeds United at one stage. But after Jesus’s injury, he has seized his chance with both hands and he now has seven goals from his last seven games in all competitions.

“What Eddie’s doing is incredible,” said Arteta. “We cannot say we saw that. We were hoping that he could do that because of the way he is, because of his mentality, because of his qualities.”

Jesus, who arrived from champions City last July, revitalised the Gunners’ forward line, bringing title-winning belief and swagger to a side that had not mounted a sustained title charge for many years.

In his absence, Nketiah has become the main man in the Arsenal forward line. The 23-year-old’s two goals on Sunday took him top of Arsenal’s goalscoring charts with nine for the season -- one ahead of Bukayo Saka, who also turned in a dazzling performance in London.

For so long a bit-part player, Nketiah now has 13 goals in his past 13 starts at the Emirates.

“Your defence is in trouble!!!” he tweeted after slaying United.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023