Cesc Fabregas says Arsenal have made a “big, big statement” to the rest of the Premier League by beating Manchester United.
The Gunners showed brilliant resilience to come from behind and beat United 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening. Marcus Rashford gave Erik ten Hag’s side the lead with a stunning long-range strike before Eddie Nketiah headed in an equaliser.
Bukayo Saka curled a lovely shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box before Lisandro Martinez’s diving header levelled things at 2-2. Nketiah made himself the hero by reacting quickly to flick in a loose ball in the 90th minute.
The win restored Arsenal ’s five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, while Mikel Arteta’s team also have a game in-hand on their rivals. Speaking before the game on Sky Sports, former Arsenal midfielder Fabregas felt the match could define his old side’s season.
“As a coach you have to send a message across to the players and to the fans that it is just one more game, but there are some games that define seasons,” he said. “Obviously we’re still in the middle of a season, still a lot of points and games to play for but beating United, killing their hopes a little bit for the title and leaving yourself up there with Manchester City would be a big, big statement to the league. Let’s see what happens but I have a good feeling for Arsenal today.”
Fabregas is still playing for Como in the Italian second tier but is eyeing a coaching career. And his comments in the Sky Sports studio showed his potential as a coach and make lovely reading for Arsenal supporters.
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“We were talking before the game about there being games that define seasons, it’s still a long way to go, you speak to Mikel and for sure he will tell you that, but as a player sometimes,” he said after the win for Arsenal.
“You cannot really explain it in words, but you can feel it – you feel that something special is happening, you can feel the togetherness, you can feel the Emirates booming, the passion and the togetherness that this team shows week in week out.
“We were just talking about, ‘can they come back in the difficult moments?’ Today has shown that they can. That shows a top, top mentality from them and it should give them a big push to finish the season.”
Arsenal now have 50 points from 19 games, which means they have made the club’s best ever start to a season. At the halfway point, they lead City by five points and have lost just once – in a 3-1 defeat against United back in September.
Next up they will face Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday before playing strugglers Everton on February 4.
