William Gallas feels ‘very sad’ for Arsenal despite Newcastle victory

The Gunners put pressure on title rivals Man City with a 2-0 win over Newcastle at St James’ Park.

But Arsenal are still one point behind Manchester City, who have a game in hand and a superior goal difference.

‘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,’ Gallas told Sky Sports.

‘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’s title hopes would have suffered a major blow had they failed to beat Newcastle, but Martin Odegaard’s first-half strike and Fabian Schar’s second-half own goal ensured the Gunners returned to north London with three valuable points.

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.

‘Last year here was one of the toughest days of my career, to be honest. After dropping points against Man City, to win against Chelsea and then come here and win shows the mentality.

‘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.’

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