Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United: Echoes of Wenger’s title winners – Martin Keown analysis

I felt the same faith and desire at the Emirates on Sunday that we had at Highbury when I won the Premier League title with Arsenal that day.

Right from the start, Arsenal’s energy was incredible and they were absolutely ruthless in the way they kept going in search of victory.

The home crowd played a big part in that, in the same way they did when they drove us forward when we won titles under Arsene Wenger.

The chants of ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal’ when they were chasing down a late winner took me back to those days, and I found them very powerful.

As a player, you feed the crowd as much as they respond to what happens on the pitch, so of course they made a difference against United.

Even when things went wrong, fans knew Arsenal were good enough to win the game, so they weren’t worried about what United might do.

They know what they’re watching, and like they used to watch us shine all thinking ‘right, let’s win this as fast as we can’ When I played under Wenger, they now know they have another team that can beat anyone. .

This is their look in every game, whether home or away. Against United, whether it was 1-0 down or when it was 2-2 in the last ten minutes, they wanted to win and urged the players to go on because they thought they could make it.

The team responded to this – they didn’t panic, just kept playing and found a way to win.

Victories like this will change people’s minds

There are only two possible endings to the Premier League season now – either Arsenal or Manchester City will win the title.

Arsenal lead by five points with a game in hand, which is a huge cushion, but you’re still wondering “Is that enough?” And not just because they still have to play City twice.

We are waiting to see if City will wake up and regain strength, while at the moment Arsenal are flying in such great form.

The uncertainty isn’t from the way Arsenal play, but rather because this team has never won the Premier League before – unlike City who are running for their fifth title in six seasons, along with Liverpool, we set standards we’ve never set. we’ve seen before.

Arsenal is in a different phase, where they are progressing and developing. So far, with the progress they’ve made, no one is really ready to say that they would win the league with the same conviction that they would have if City were in their position now.

It’s results like this in a victory against in-form United that will change people’s minds, and the way they got it was a statement too – there’s no doubt Arsenal really turned heads and their performance will reverberate throughout the game, including with everyone at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal can show their teeth in the cup

Teams show how good they are by winning trophies, not by sending letters, but games like Sunday where you show your personality and personality, and you show your teeth to your competitors as well.

When we won the Premier League in 1997-98, which was in the prime of Wenger’s years, we were building our reputation the same way Arteta’s side is now – winning 10 games on the bounce between March and May. .

We knew we had to keep winning, otherwise we might open the door even slightly for United, who we’ve reformed in the last few months of the season.

Arsenal haven’t won anything yet and Friday’s FA Cup game at City is when we’ll really have to see their teeth.

This is a game the Gunners are not expected to win, even though they are leading the league, and in the current format, they seem to be of a different class.

It is City who are still going into this game as the favourites, because they are established as one of the best teams on the planet.

If Arsenal can go to the Etihad Stadium and win, just think of what that would do for the group. It’s the perfect match for them to play after wins against Tottenham and United, and I’m confident they’ll rise to the challenge.

Martin Keown was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.