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Mikel Arteta claimed he hoped that his Arsenal players didn't know of Manchester City 's loss because they "aren't allowed their phones" at half-time with the Gunners able to extend their advantage. Arsenal and City both played at the same time on Sunday, kicking off at 2pm, with Pep Guardiola 's side going down at Aston Villa for the third straight season. They went down to an early Matty Cash goal and couldn't recover in the Midlands. The north Londoners meanwhile downed Crystal Palace at the Emirates with ex-Eagles talisman Eberechi Eze scoring the crucial goal. He had Arsenal ahead at the interval, but the players were likely unaware that their rivals were also losing at Villa Park. Arteta doesn't allow the players to check their phones at half-time meaning they would've been unaware of the opportunity that was presenting itself. He said: "No, I wasn’t aware. I just found out at the end of the game. I think most of the players as well, they aren’t allowed their phones at half-time, so hopefully they didn’t know about it, but maybe through the staff. But I think it was a really positive weekend for us, especially because we did what we had to do and then it shows the difficulty of the league, and how complicated it is to win these games." Arsenal have been able to take control of the title race in recent weeks, owing to a run of four successive wins. Liverpool meanwhile have lost four on the bounce and have fallen down the league as a result - Arteta's side now lead them by seven points. City's third loss of the season means they are six points adrift of Arsenal, all of which leaves Bournemouth in second. The Cherries are the closest team to the Gunners, but they are four points shy of the north Londoners, who are favourites to finally claim the title. Arteta has hailed the team's consistency but doesn't see their current lead as defining. Early in the season they were looking up at Liverpool but the situation has quickly changed in Arsenal's favour. "We are where we are. It’s a credit to us because we’ve been very consistent, but knowing the difficulty of every match as well. It is early, so it doesn’t mean anything other than let’s keep doing a lot of things that we’re doing really well, but there are things to improve to give us better margins as well." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
