Goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fábio Vieira ensured the game was all but over by the 49th minute, meaning Arsenal were back on top and bounced back from their defeat at Manchester United. They have won six league games from seven and Frank believes they could be equipped to end a 19-year wait for the crown. “They’re top of the table so you can’t argue with that, they’ve done brilliantly,” he said. “Looking at the quality, they should be title contenders. From what I’ve seen in seven games, I think they’ve been pretty good: they’ve won fairly in six and the other game could go either way. [Gabriel] Jesus, wow, what a player…nothing against it [Manchester] City but sometimes it clicks in a different environment. “[Bukayo] From and [Martin] Ødegaard is a year older: Ødegaard, what a player. Saliba, he will become an international player for France, I am sure. He will start for this team and this is a strong international team.” Frank said the defeat, which came a month after the Bees beat Manchester United 4-0, was proof that it is “never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems”. Mikel Arteta, whose side face Tottenham and Liverpool at the Emirates after the international break, was predictably coy about the title talk but more forthcoming in his decision to hand Ethan Nwaneri, aged 15 years and 181 days, a debut record. He became the youngest player to play in the Premier League after coming on as a substitute in added time. ‘Gut feeling’: Mikel Arteta on 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri’s debut – video “It was a pure gut feeling,” Arteta said. “I met the boy and I really liked what I saw… he has trained a few times with us. Yesterday he had to come because we have injuries, especially Martin’s injury [Ødegaard]and then I had the feeling that, if the opportunity arose, I would do it. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “It’s another step [for Nwaneri], another experience. In your career not all steps are going to be forward. After that, maybe it takes three backs to make another forward, but I think it was worth it. It sends a very strong message about who we are as a club as well.”
