Former Arsenal defender William Gallas has expressed his sadness for the Gunners despite their victory over Newcastle United, as he cannot see Manchester City slipping up in the Premier League title race. The Gunners put pressure on title rivals Man City with a 2-0 win at St James’ Park, but are still one point behind with City having a game in hand and a superior goal difference.
Gallas said: ‘Arsenal have to believe they can still win the title, but it won’t be easy because we know Man City are there and will probably keep that advantage until the end. I think they can do that too, even if it hurts me to say it. When you are so close to winning the title and have the chance to stay on top, I think they will do everything to do that. That’s why I feel very sad for Arsenal. They were on top, they had the advantage and unfortunately now they are second and they have to wait and see if Man City drop any points.’
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring in the first-half and Fabian Schar’s second-half own goal sealed the win for the Gunners. Odegaard said: ‘We showed something special here today. To come here and win is not easy. We had to be very smart and to be ugly at times. It is a big step for a young team like ours to come here and do the things we did. It shows we have come a long way.’ He added: ‘We have to keep going and digging in and fight until the end. It is football, anything can happen and we need to be ready.’