ARTETA RELIES ON TROSS-FIRE

Leandro strike sends Arsenal back to the Premier summit

- Harry PRATT

AND then there were five. Five more games for Arsenal to win. Five more dates with destiny in a gripping title race. Five more occasions to prove they are no chokers.

Yep, the Gunners returned to victorious ways last night, reclaimed top spot and recharged their title dreams with goals from Leandro Trossard and a late, late second from Martin Odegaard.

Trossard’s spectacular effort on the stroke of half-time also ended a 225-minute goal drought for the visitors and, in the process, fired Mikel Arteta’s men a point clear of Manchester City.

And that could be up to four by Tuesday, if they beat Chelsea on their own patch, because City do not play again until a testing trip to Brighton on Thursday.

With the very real threat their season could be dead by the end of yesterday evening, this was all about Arsenal preventing such a disaster.

The Gunners have been on streaks all this season – either lengthy, virtually faultless ones or brief blips of two or three setbacks.

Which is why they wanted to bury any April hoodoo immediately and ensure a return to the summit they had suddenly abandoned six days earlier. That was their only possible plan of attack in the Midlands – so often a graveyard region for previous botched Arsenal challenges under Arsene Wenger.