Mikel Arteta reveals title race advice from Arsene Wenger

Mikel Arteta has revealed taking advice from legendary former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as the Gunners battle Manchester City in the final stages of the Premier League title race.

Arsenal finished second last season, setting an unwanted record in the process as the team to have led the way for the longest time without finishing as champions. That was largely due to a late collapse across April and May that saw them win only three of their final nine games.

Wenger famously won three Premier League titles during a golden era for the club, and Arteta admitted he has asked the Frenchman for tips on handling this late stage of the season.

"I have spoken to him a few times. There were certain topics about how they won it and the later stages," Arteta explained ahead of Sunday’s must-win north London derby.

"He used to talk about that when I was a player," Arteta added, referencing his spell as club captain between 2011 and 2016. "It is always there in the [mental] hard drive.

"For this time of the season, at the end it is about finding a way to win the game. And that is it. You can do it in various ways when you look at how they won the titles and how they won certain games with very very, very close margins. He always talked about that, about the fine margins. And who is going to step up on the occasion to make it happen."

Wenger remains the last Arsenal manager to win a league title, when his 'Invincibles' side went unbeaten over 38 games during the 2003/04 season. The Gunners went on to finish second the following year and mounted a serious challenge in 2007/08, but that marked the start of more than a decade in the wilderness as the Wenger era petered out and the club struggled to find itself.

The Frenchman's previous titles had both come as one half of a Premier League/FA Cup double in 1997/98 and 2001/02, while he won France's formerly named Division 1 with Monaco in 1987/88.

READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP