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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the Premier League leaders must win trophies if they were to be remembered like the “Invincibles” side that last won the title for the Gunners in 2004.Arsene Wenger’s side romped to the title 22 years ago without losing a single league game. Arsenal head into Thursday’s clash at home to reigning champions Liverpool with a six-point lead at the top of the table, although Manchester City and Aston Villa can cut that gap as they were in action late last night. Arteta’s men, runners-up for the past three seasons, have two more points and four more goals than Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ managed after 20 games. But the Spaniard said those stats matter little unless Arsenal go on to win the league. “No because ‘the Invincibles’ won a lot,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on whether his side can be considered better than Arsenal’s last title winners. “They won consistently, and they created a history and a legacy, and we have to do that.” The lone major piece of silverware won by Arsenal in six years under Arteta remains the 2020 FA Cup “There are a lot of stats, but in the last two or three years we have managed more points and more goals than ever before. But at the end, we have to translate that to major trophies,” he added. “Probably doing what we are doing now would have been enough (in 2004), but now it’s not, and we have to make the margins even bigger.” Arsenal lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield back in August in what was billed as an early showdown between title rivals. The defending champions head to the Emirates 14 points off the top after a difficult second season for Arne Slot, but Arteta insisted the Reds remain “a superb side”. The Gunners remain without sidelined defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera but are “monitoring the load” on Kai Havertz as the Germany forward intensifies his training while continuing to recover from a long-term leg injury. Arteta, meanwhile, said he was “sad” to see rival boss Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United on Monday after just 14 months in charge at Old Trafford. The Portuguese coach’s exit followed growing tensions with senior United officials, including director of football Jason Wilcox, over recent days. United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe had previously suggested Amorim would be given at least three years in charge, citing Arsenal’s patience with Arteta as an example to follow. Appointed in 2019, Arteta endured a rocky start to his time in charge of Arsenal. But they are now a commanding 17 points ahead of sixth-placed United, who won just 25 of 63 games in all competitions under Amorim. “I can only talk about what I have experienced and it’s always sad to see a colleague losing his job, obviously,” said Arteta. “We know where we are and I think you need support from the ownership, from your staff, from players. At the end of the day, you need to win a lot of football matches if you want to stay in the job, and that’s the reality and the nature of our job.” 

Mikel Arteta warned Arsenal's title rivals that their ruthless 4-1 rout of Aston Villa showed they are on track to win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.Arteta's side issued a significant statement of intent in the title race by crushing Villa with a second half blitz at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.A costly mistake from Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez opened the floodgates as his failure to catch a corner allowed Gabriel Magalhaes to bundle home. Martin Zubimendi doubled the lead moments later before Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus produced clinical finishes to complete the demolition.Ollie Watkins' stoppage-time goal was no consolation for out-classed Villa, who paid the price for failing to turn their first half dominance into goals. After losing at Villa and Liverpool and drawing with Manchester City and Chelsea earlier this season, Arsenal finally have a landmark victory in the bid to win the title.Arteta hailed the result as proof Arsenal have what it takes to lift the Premier League trophy at last after finishing as runners-up for three successive seasons."Well, it has been a great 2025 on a personal and professional level. The way these guys, the club and the staff make me enjoy my work every single day is brilliant," Arteta said. "In 2026, we know what we want. We will have to work really hard for it every single day, but I think we are on the right tracks for it."Arsenal end 2025 five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who play their game in hand at Sunderland on Thursday, while third-placed Villa are six points adrift of the leaders. Ending Villa's club-record equalling 11-match winning run was a sweet moment for Arteta after the pain of Emiliano Buendia's stoppage-time winner for Unai Emery's men earlier in December."It is a beautiful evening. That was a very tough match, as we knew it would be, because they are a top opponent," said Arteta. "The first 10 minutes were a bit shaky and we had to adjust things. After that, we grabbed the game and we were creating the chances. The way we started the second half was amazing. We really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did. We had to be really meticulous. It's a big credit to my players because against this team it isn't easy."After grinding out a series of victories with just a one-goal margin lately, this was the kind of swaggering display that underlined Arsenal's vast potential. "We needed scrappy goals to win other games but today the quality of our finishing was top and made the difference," Arteta said.Praising Brazil defender Gabriel's influence on his first start since being injured in November, Arteta added: "We saw it today. He came back after six weeks out and composed himself against one of the best strikers in the league in Ollie Watkins. I thought he was tremendous."Arteta and Emery didn't shake hands at the final whistle, with the Villa boss claiming his fellow Spaniard was too busy celebrating to acknowledge him. "When I finish the match I am always waiting to shake hands with another coach but he was with his coaches and I can't wait for him. Of course, I was there but no problem. I went to my dressing room," Emery said.Arteta played down the incident, saying: "Sometimes we are in this sort of moment, so it's not an issue for me."Emery was left to rue Martinez's mistake and an injury to Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana, which he felt changed the momentum of the match. "The first goal, how they scored it maybe could be foul but here in England it is more difficult because the referees let you touch the keepers," he said. "That changed everything. After Onana's injury we lost everything in the middle. Arsenal have the power they showed. That is football." 

Mikel Arteta has hinted that he is ready to hand Gabriel Jesus his first start in nearly a year in Arsenal's League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace Tuesday.The Premier League leaders host Oliver Glasner's side at the Emirates, desperate to end the club's six-year trophy drought. Jesus scored a hat-trick in Arsenal's last-eight win against Palace last season before they fell to Newcastle in the semi-finals.The Brazil international then spent 11 months on the sidelines after he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. But, following three substitute appearances, Jesus could be unleashed from the start against Palace, with Arteta set to rotate a side that faces six matches in 20 days. Chelsea await the winners.Arteta said former Manchester City forward Jesus, 28, was ready to start. "You can see now, not only in games but every day in training how much he wants it so he's going to deserve a chance soon," he said."It has been a real intense journey. When he joined us he lifted the belief, the spirit and the energy of the team and he gave something very different to what we already had and was very impressive. Then he had some very bad injuries and that hasn't allowed him to have the consistency we need from a very important player. He is back and his fighting spirit, his desire to always prepare in the best way is unbelievable. The team is together now and we need to use it."Jesus could take the place of Viktor Gyokeres, who, despite scoring from the penalty spot in Arsenal's 1-0 win at Everton on Saturday, has not found the back of the net from open play in his past six appearances.Man City players face Christmas weigh-in as Guardiola issues 'fatty' warningManchester City's players face a Christmas Day weigh-in to check they have not over-indulged over the festive period – with Pep Guardiola warning they will be dropped if they have piled on the pounds.City enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over Premier League strugglers West Ham on Saturday to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal. But Guardiola, who has won six league titles during his spell at the Etihad, is famously demanding, revealing his men had been weighed before their short break."Every player makes a weight," said the City boss. "They come back on the 25th and I will be there controlling how many kilos come up, (to see if) they come fatty. The moment they arrive after three days I want to see how they come back. They can eat but I want to control them."The Spaniard said players who returned to the club overweight would not play against Forest on December 27. "Imagine one player and now he's perfect but he will arrive with three kilos more. He will (stay) in Manchester," he said. "He will not travel to Nottingham Forest."Guardiola said it was important his men relaxed during a packed calendar as he heads to Barcelona for a brief rest. "The schedule is so tight and the players have to forget," he said. "The more they arrive in the right moment (the better). The moment of the game they will be fresh in the legs. The players have to go with the families and forget football. It's good. For them to see the manager every day – that's so tough."The famously exacting City boss refused his players a day off after their win on Saturday, unhappy with the level of performance despite a fifth straight league victory."The players asked me to take a day off. I said, 'No because you didn't play good enough,' he said. "So Sunday recovery, train the guys that didn't play, and after three days off they have two days to prepare for Nottingham Forest." 

Arsenal's miserly defence has conceded three Premier League goals so far this season and manager Mikel Arteta hopes their fortress-like foundation can finally deliver the silverware that has eluded the North London club for so long.With David Raya in goal and the commanding centre-back partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, clean sheets have become Arsenal's trademark in this campaign. Arsenal have conceded just three times in the league this season and have kept three successive clean sheets in the Champions League, meaning their defensive record after 12 matches is the best in the club's 138-year history. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side of 20 years ago let in just 15 goals on their way to winning the league, which is a Premier League record.Their defensive solidity even extends to Europe where the formidable back line remain unbreached after three Champions League games and will be put to the test again when the Premier League leaders host Crystal Palace tomorrow."We hope that these records that we are getting a lot bring silverware at the end and the trophies that we want. But the more we can produce, the closer we are going to be able to achieve what we want to do," Arteta told reporters. "Our defensive record is very good but we need to be consistent. It's only the start of the season and our aim is to keep improving things, which we can do to keep getting better."The teams with the best defensive records, most of the time, apart from the last three seasons in the Premier League, you normally win the title. The stronger we are with the foundations, the more probability we have of winning."While Arsenal's defensive wall has frustrated opponents, it's their prowess from set pieces that has been rewriting the record books at the other end of the pitch. Arsenal have already plundered 10 goals from set plays in eight games, the earliest any side has reached double figures for set-piece goals in Premier League history.Arteta admitted he knew set pieces – including free-kicks and corners – would be essential to any success during his Arsenal reign. Crucially, Arteta was doing his coaching badges when he met Nicolas Jover, who would later become set-piece coach at Brentford before joining Arsenal in 2021. Jover has been instrumental in Arsenal's remarkable ability at set-pieces.Arteta credited the training ground obsession that has turned dead-ball situations into Arsenal's secret weapon. "First of all, creating the culture, giving to that part of the game the importance it has," he said. "Also, understanding that football is evolving and the way opponents are acting against us, we have to maximise certain things that happen very frequently. Something that happens very frequently has a lot of value to us, so we try to maximise that and be effective."Tomorrow's encounter carries extra significance after Palace held Arsenal to a damaging 2-2 draw in April, a result that effectively handed Liverpool the title initiative. "It's the fourth game in a row that we have played against an opponent that we dropped points against last year," Arteta said. "This season we've been able to beat them, so our focus is on continuing that."The match also gives attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze the chance to face his former club after the England international's 68mn move in August. Local boy Eze scored the winner for Palace in last season's FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley as the South London club won 1-0 to lift their first major trophy. "For Ebs (Eze) we know it is going to be a very special match with the history and what he did for Palace, but the focus is on the team," Arteta added.

Viktor Gyokeres says he is eager to respond to manager Mikel Arteta’s call to take his goal-scoring momentum into the Premier League, after Tuesday’s impressive performance against Atletico Madrid. Attacker Gyokeres ended a run of seven games without a goal by scoring twice in Arsenal’s 4-0 rout of Atletico in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium.It took the 27-year-old’s tally for the Gunners to five goals following his £58mn ($77mn) transfer from Sporting Lisbon, where he scored 97 times in 102 appearances.Gunners boss Arteta challenged Gyokeres to keep the goals coming, with Arsenal back in domestic action against London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday. “I’m more hungry now,” said Gyokeres. “You always want to contribute with work rate and other stuff, but when you score goals as well, it’s a bit special. So that’s something I always want to do.“The group we have and the spirit is something different and something very special. When you win games and you do these performances, it builds confidence in the team. The belief has to always be there, but of course this helps to boost it. We just want to keep going like this.”Manager Arteta said Gyokeres fully deserved the ovation he received from the Arsenal fans. “I think he deserved it because everything that we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks,” Arteta told reporters.“There was no debate about that. It was about keeping that belief in himself, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely. I look at his teammates as well, in the picture and the video, they are all so happy for him.”His opening goal was a messy affair as his weak shot dribbled into the net via a deflection while his second came from yet another Arsenal set piece with Gabriel heading a corner into the path of the Sweden international.“He makes us a much better team. I think we’ve become much more unpredictable. He’s so physical, the way he presses the ball, holds the ball, that’s phenomenal,” Arteta said. “He’s scored two very different ones today, and hopefully he starts to get some momentum and a good run of goals.”Arsenal have won their three games in Europe so far this season with as many clean sheets. They have conceded just three goals this term, away to champions Liverpool and Newcastle and at home to Manchester City, with just one of those coming from open play, in their first 12 fixtures.Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, who has posted five consecutive shutouts, said: “I give clean sheets the same credit as goals. If we’re keeping clean sheets, it’s going to make games easier to win. It’s really, really important for the whole team, not giving away that many chances and being very, very solid. The depth of the squad is incredible. We have a lot of players who can play in two, three or four positions. (Mikel) Merino came on as a striker (against Atletico), but he can play as a number six, eight, or as a number 10, and that is the variety that the boss has and he is using it to our advantage. It gives us an extra level in training and in games, because if you are not at it you can lose your spot and everybody is on board with that.”Premier League table-toppers Arsenal will head into this weekend’s round of fixtures with a three-point lead over second-placed Manchester City. Liverpool are a further point adrift.