Arsenal have ticked off the checklist of champions - Keown
When I read back the notes I’d made about Arsenal during Sunday’s win over Manchester United, it was like a checklist of what it takes to be champions.
Mikel Arteta’s side had the mindset that meant they were able to handle the occasion, take control of the game and then see it out with the kind of defensive discipline and determination that has enabled them to keep 18 clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
When I was a Gunners player, winning at Old Trafford usually meant we also won the title too.
We will have to wait and see whether that is the case this year but, whatever happens now, Arsenal have shown fantastic mental resolve to get this far and overcome the obstacles they fell at last time.
They have won 15 of their past 17 Premier League games to make it as difficult as possible for Manchester City to defend their crown, going into the final week of the season.
The pressure was on the Gunners against United, and you could feel that tension in their performance. I think the history of this fixture was a big part of that, because there have been some huge games between these two teams down the years - I know, because I played in a few of them.
It all meant Arsenal were not at their best but sometimes when you are in a title race, you just have get through days like that and grind out the result, and they were so professional in the way they went about it.
I thought they were immense at the back, especially the two centre-halves, Gabriel and William Saliba, who were outstanding again.
Read Martin Keown's full analysis here
