Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins scored in the final six minutes as Aston Villa stunned Arsenal with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium to put a huge dent in Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title hopes.

With Liverpool having gone down 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace earlier in the day, Arsenal stood to move three points clear of Jurgen Klopp’s side but they were left reeling from their first league loss of 2024 by a superb away performance by Villa, who moved three clear of Tottenham in the race to finish fourth.

Arteta’s team were on top during the first half and should have taken the lead when Leandro Trossard met a low cross from close range but saw his effort brilliantly turned away by the foot of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Moments before, Watkins had struck the inside of a post for Villa who were a constant threat on the counter-attack before taking control in the second half.

Youri Tielemans hit the crossbar just after the break, before two late goals handed the initiative in the title race to champions Manchester City, who lead the way by two points.

At Anfield, Eberechi Eze’s goal after 14 minutes, tapped in from Tyrick Mitchell’s cutback, proved the difference as Liverpool fell to a first home league defeat of the season.

Klopp’s side were guilty of profligate finishing with Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones all responsible for glaring misses, while goalkeeper Dean Henderson put in a fine display with a number of key saves.

Wataru Endo hit the crossbar in the first half when Palace failed to clear a corner, but they hung on for just a second victory under Oliver Glasner to leave Liverpool two points off the top.

Elsewhere, Fulham ran out 2-0 winners against West Ham at the London Stadium, Andreas Pereira scoring a goal in either half to damage the home side’s European ambitions.

Cesc Fabregas believes Arsenal could go on to dominate English football in the coming years if they can get over the line in this year’s Premier League title race.

The Gunners currently lead a three-way battle with Liverpool and Manchester City, sitting on top of the table ahead of the Reds on goal difference.

Having fallen away from the title race last season, Mikel Arteta’s side are sticking around and former midfielder Fabregas says the mindset will change by becoming winners this term.

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“Obviously you can imagine what it will mean. More than just winning a title but the belief will be back, the trust between the players and the staff and the fans and the whole club,” the Spaniard, who played over 300 times for the Gunners, told the PA news agency.

“The family that was there when I was there will be back, the moments of ‘we are strong and we know we can win’; at the moment it is a little bit ‘are we ready are we not’?

“If they can manage to win the first one, I believe it could become a constant threat for Arsenal to be challenging for all the top titles.”

Arteta, whose side drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, came under pressure at the start of his tenure as his project took time to come to fruition.

But the Gunners stuck with him and Fabregas, who is now assistant manager at Italian Serie B club Como, says his former club are an example of how to do things properly.

“It is all about Edu and the owners giving him the time and the right tools to prove himself,” he said.

“When this happens, the structure, the vision and the trust comes together and things happen. That is why I am happy.

“I always use them as an example, the first two years of Mikel, in any other club or someone else managing the situation could have just got rid of Mikel and said ‘we are moving to another direction’.

“But they had a clear plan, a clear process, they had the right steps, they invested in young quality players and now you get all the results of these ups and downs of the first two or three years.

“They are there, they have done really well and they are a proper example of how football should be done.”

Fabregas will be donning his boots again as he has signed up to Enterprise’s ‘Rent-A-Player’ campaign, where he will join a lucky five-a-side team in the UK for one night only.

The 2010 World Cup winner knows all about the physicality and passion of English football after long spells at Arsenal and Chelsea, so knows to bring his shin pads.

“For me it will be a great experience, he added. “Talking to people, seeing different views of football. I guess it’s like street football and exchanging stories, thoughts, experiences. It is going to be fantastic.

“I will definitely be taking the shin pads because these games are very competitive, you never know where it might lead.”

:: Entry to Enterprise’s ‘Rent-A-Player’ competition closes on Friday, April 12, with applicants in the UK able to enter via enterpriserent-a-player.com

Rio Ferdinand believes Marcus Rashford may have to leave Manchester United to reignite his career.

Rashford’s form has dipped this season in an inconsistent United side, scoring just eight goals in 36 appearances.

The 26-year-old’s off-field lifestyle has also come under the spotlight after he went to a party following October’s derby defeat by Manchester City and reportedly spent an evening at a Belfast nightclub in January before missing the following day’s training due to illness.

Former United defender Ferdinand feels Rashford, whose place in the England squad for Euro 2024 this summer could be in jeopardy, needs to look at the people he surrounds himself with and possibly make a fresh start elsewhere.

“I think it’s a pivotal moment in his career now, he’s not a kid anymore,” Ferdinand told Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast.

“I think there’s a big decision to make, from him. He’s got to look at who’s around him, who are the external people? Are they the right people?

“Are they enabling him to make excuses for himself behind closed doors? Or are they saying ‘look at yourself and be accountable for what you are doing’?

“He needs to look at that and own that and make big decisions.

“When I left West Ham (for Leeds) I could have gone to Chelsea, that’s probably a club I would have preferred to go to at the time. But the reason I went to Leeds was it was out of London and the external people around me, I needed to get away from.

“He might need to go ‘you know what, I’ll get rid of them and stay in Manchester, or I’ve got leave Manchester and get rid of those people’.”

Former United captain Roy Keane suggested a more old-school approach to get Rashford firing again.

He said: “We make excuses for him. There’s a structure, a team around him. There’s no question mark about his ability but there’s something amiss with him.

“A player can have an off spell, or a dip, but he’s certainly not enjoying his football.

“The people around him, family, the manager, who’s on his case every day? There’s nothing wrong with the old fashioned kick up the a*** and going ‘come on, we need more from you’.

“I don’t think there’s anybody on his case. But that doesn’t mean he can’t produce and start running a bit more.”

Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer was fined six weeks’ wages on this day in 2005 for fighting with team-mate Kieron Dyer during a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa.

Bowyer appeared to be the aggressor in the extraordinary scenes at St James’ Park, resulting in the England midfielder being severely censured by his club and warned as to his future conduct.

Both players were sent off and Bowyer was banned for six games by the Football Association as well as being fined by the governing body, lifting the total amount of fines he paid for the incident to £280,000.

Northumbria Police pressed charges and in 2006 Newcastle magistrates issued a £600 fine and ordered Bowyer to pay £1,000 in costs for the offence of “causing harassment, alarm or distress”.

“A moment of madness. Do I regret it? Of course I do. Nobody wants to do that, especially on the big stage, but it’s passion,” said Bowyer when reflecting on the incident in 2022.

“Obviously people have opinions and it goes from one extreme to another, everyone puts two pence in – all of a sudden it was me and Kieron hated each other, but that wasn’t the case.”

Pep Guardiola has admitted he needed to learn to control his emotions more effectively before guiding Manchester City to the treble last season.

A new club-produced documentary which will screen on Netflix from Tuesday goes behind on the scenes of City’s historic season, and shows the message Guardiola gave to his players at half-time during the Champions League final in Istanbul, when the match against Inter Milan was still goalless.

Guardiola is seen trying to settle the nerves of his players, reassuring them they can improve in the second half, before they went on to win 1-0 through Rodri’s 68th minute goal.

“You’re exceptional players, playing the Champions League final,” Guardiola tells them. “What you feel is normal, yes. But we don’t give up. Go, go, go. That’s why we are here. We adjust one or two things and we’ll be much more effective. Calm, guys, calm. Keep going, we’ll find momentum.”

Speaking in an interview filmed for the documentary, which is called ‘Together: Treble Winners’, Guardiola contrasted that message with the half-time team talk he gave his side during the 2021 Champions League final against Chelsea.

They had just fallen behind to Kai Havertz’s 42nd minute goal and went on to lose 1-0.

“Of course emotion is so important in the final,” Guardiola said. “The big personalities, the characters. How you approach the moment in half-time, how you overcome, how well you overcome if it’s not a perfect first half, because it’s happened.

“People are human beings, they have the desire to do well, to achieve it, win it, to lift it…

“I remember the final against Chelsea at half-time I was more aggressive with some players and it didn’t work…

“In the finals, there is not one player who doesn’t want to win it and do it well. And when that moment came by, OK guys, we have 45 minutes, maybe extra time, stick with what we have. I have to adjust something, we do it. Come on, let’s go.

“I control my emotions much better than when I was younger as a manager.”

The documentary also includes Kyle Walker’s now famous speech in the dressing room before kick-off. The England defender had been left out of Guardiola’s starting line-up for the match, and implored those taking the field to deliver for those on the sidelines.

“I love every single one of you,” said Walker, now City’s captain. “Come and make my dream come true. Please, I beg you. Right, come on boys.”

The six-episode documentary series charts City’s season from the moment of Erling Haaland’s medical ahead of his arrival from Borussia Dortmund through to their historic night in Istanbul and the celebrations that followed.

The issue of the 115 charges laid against the club by the Premier League in February 2023 for alleged breaches of financial rules are dealt with briefly, but without new material, using archive footage from Guardiola’s press conference at the time.

The lowest point of City’s season came in January, when they lost back-to-back games against Southampton and Manchester United.

The abject 2-0 Carabao Cup loss to the Saints was later seen as a turning point and Guardiola’s post-match team talk with his players is telling as he demanded an explanation from them for their poor display.

“Tell me,” he said. “Do you think it’s normal the way you performed? Something happens and everyone’s head is down. There is no one to do something. Do you think it’s normal, what we have done, for this club?

“Do you think it’s normal for the (fans) that travel, who don’t have money to pay for the heater at home and they travel, to come here, to follow us – do you think it’s normal to perform in this way?

“Wow. My team is not like that. We’ll be in trouble. I don’t accept that.”

Defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has signed a new deal with Arsenal.

The Japanese star joined the Gunners in August 2021 from Serie A side Bologna and has made 73 appearances in all competitions.

The PA news agency understands Tomiyasu’s new contract is for two years, with the option of a further 12 months.

Manager Mikel Arteta said: “We are so pleased to have Tomi commit his future with us. Together with his natural ability and strength, Tomi’s attitude, mentality and values are first class.

“Tomi is loved by everyone and has been an integral part of the squad since joining us. The way he trains, with his desire and determination to be the best version of himself every day, is admirable. We look forward to continue working with Tomi in the future years.”

Tomiyasu has made 20 appearances this season, scoring his first goal against Sheffield United in October, but has not featured in 2024 having played for Japan in the Asian Cup and then struggled with a calf injury.

The 25-year-old said: “I’m so happy to extend my contract because Arsenal is one of the best clubs in the world. And it’s a dream to play for this club.

“I’m still learning a lot of things from Mikel, from my team-mates. I still have capacity to improve. So I will try to be a better player and also a better person as well.”

Pep Guardiola admitted he will face a nervous wait to see if all of his Manchester City players come through the international window unscathed ahead of a crucial run of games.

City kept alive the possibility of a second treble as they beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday to become the first team in the history of the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals in six consecutive seasons.

But the majority of Guardiola’s squad will now be heading off to play international football before the crunch Premier League fixture against title rivals Arsenal on March 31.

“I will not watch the (international) games, I will rest, and when they arrive on Thursday we will see which players survive and which did not survive,” Guardiola said.

“It’s difficult sometimes in that period to give all the players away for friendly games in a difficult part of the season, but the schedule is the schedule.”

Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva were enough for City to ease to victory over outclassed Newcastle, booking the first of what City hope will be three visits to Wembley before the end of the season, with the national stadium hosting the Champions League final on June 1.

“One step at a time,” said Guardiola, who will enjoy a break in his native Catalunya during the internationals. “First we have a final against Arsenal. But now we rest. I don’t want to think too much in the future.

“It’s been an intense period. Now the players change environment, it is always good for their mind. Some will be with their families, the staff will be with their families, and then when we come back we have three games to prepare for the game against Arsenal. Let’s go.”

Speaking immediately after Saturday’s game, Guardiola said he needed Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish to come back fit after the break, and also mentioned Erling Haaland, who missed two months of the season through injury earlier in the season.

But although the Norwegian was unable to add to his eight FA Cup goals in Saturday’s match, bending a shot narrowly wide early in the second half, Guardiola was happy with the striker’s performance.

“This was the Erling I like to see,” he said. “In the moments we didn’t find him a little more with the players behind him…We should have used him a little bit more in the space but sometimes it’s difficult to see during the game.”

Grealish was an unused substitute following a groin injury which saw him left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad, but Guardiola predicted he would be ready for the Arsenal match.

“Now we have 10 days to train,” he said. “We have a plan for him to train and he will be ready. Every three days we have a game in the final (stages) of the Premier League and the final (stages) of the Champions League. Everyone will be needed.”

Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has not been surprised by the way Conor Bradley has handled the spotlight after breaking into the Liverpool side with a string of impressive performances.

Northern Ireland fans have long been aware of the 20-year-old’s exciting talent as Bradley has earned 13 caps since making his senior debut in May 2021, a figure that would be much higher had he not missed the bulk of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign through injury last year.

Since returning to fitness, Bradley has broken into Jurgen Klopp’s side and turned in a series of eye-catching displays, helping Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup last month.

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O’Neill welcomed back Bradley to international duty when he named his squad on Thursday for the upcoming friendlies against Romania and Scotland, and said Bradley has moved up a gear since recovering from a back injury.

“Conor was a big loss to us in the qualification campaign,” O’Neill told the PA news agency. “But physically he’s come back even stronger than he was prior to the injury.

“Athletically he’s demonstrated that in games – he’s played some extremely intense games, massive games for Liverpool and he’s excelled in those games. He’s not just held his own but in most of the those games people have come away talking about his level of performance.

“That’s something, going forward, we expect and hope he can bring to the international stage.”

Bradley spent last season on loan at League One Bolton, but has made the step up to Premier League and European football look seamless – something O’Neill said comes down to his character.

“The biggest thing for me is Conor’s mentality, to be able to play in those games at such a crucial stage of the season,” he said.

“He’s a very humble lad, he’s not one to get carried away. He takes it in his stride. He’s experienced already some of the ups and downs of football and it’s great to see him play at this level. He’s going to be a very important player for us going forward…

“If you know Conor and his background and his upbringing, how he’s handled it is exactly how I would expect. He’s not one that courts the spotlight, he’s not one I imagine does very much on social media.

“His focus is on his football and his performances. Away from the pitch he prefers a quiet life so he’s got all the traits you need to be a top player in the modern era.”

While Bradley is back in O’Neill’s squad, a number of senior players remain absent, with Jonny Evans sitting out this international window nursing a calf injury.

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As expected, it is still too soon for either Stuart Dallas or Corry Evans, long-term absentees, although O’Neill expects to see both players during next week’s training camp in Manchester.

Dallas, 32, has been out since suffering a broken femur in April 2022, having been frustrated by a number of setbacks in his recovery, while Corry Evans, 33, suffered a serious knee injury in January 2023.

“Both lads are coming to see us in Manchester so we’ll probably get a clearer picture then,” O’Neill said when asked about possible return dates.

“Their focus is to get back playing, to get back fit, and then they’ve both got contract situations to deal with as well, so international football is not at the forefront of their minds at this time.”

Kai Havertz may have scored the winning goal in a Champions League final but his late header to seal victory over Brentford and send Arsenal top of the Premier League was also a “dream” moment for the forward.

With title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City facing off 24 hours later, any victory for Arsenal would have taken them to the summit for the first time in 2024.

It looked like they were on course to miss out after returning goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale gifted a goal to Yoane Wissa to cancel out a brilliant Declan Rice header, only for Havertz to convert with four minutes remaining and secure a 2-1 victory.

After a slow start following his summer move from Chelsea, where he netted the only goal of the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City, Havertz now has four in four league games and was serenaded by the home fans at full-time.

“As a kid, I think you dream that you’re going to have moments like this in your career and Saturday I had something like this,” he said.

“The supporters made it very special to me and I’m very thankful to have this moment. Thank you to all of them.

“You always hope for that (connection with fans). I know maybe it wasn’t from the beginning but I always try to work hard and just not drop my confidence.

“I just give my best every game and I did it so I’m happy now that I’ve had some of those moments now.

“I’m very delighted, it was a big game for us. To play in these games and win it at the end is always very nice and it was a great feeling.”

Havertz’s late goal was controversial as there was a chance he could have been sent off earlier in the game.

After being cautioned for catching Kristoffer Ajer with an elbow, the Germany forward seemingly dived in an attempt to win a second-half penalty.

“Right now, I don’t think momentum is with us,” Vitaly Janelt told Brentford’s official website.

“Everyone expected that Arsenal would win by three, four, five today because of their last results, but everyone knows how difficult it is to play against us either at home or away.

“They didn’t create many chances and, for me, it was a clear yellow and then red to Havertz, it was a clear dive for me. Then he scores the winner, but that’s football.”

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United need to knuckle down, rack up wins and improve in possession as they attempt to sneak into the Champions League spots.

This has been a season to forget for Erik ten Hag’s side, who put back-to-back Premier League defeats behind them by edging past relegation-threatened Everton 2-0 on Saturday lunchtime.

First half penalties from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford decided the contest at Old Trafford, with the former calling on United to ignore background noise and focus on themselves during the run-in.

Put to the Red Devils skipper that it feels like every match feels like a big game right now, he told MUTV: “It is actually.

“Obviously we know that this season is not being (as) good as we want, so we want to improve as much as we can until the end of the season.

“Improve obviously position-wise because we want to try to get as close as possible to the Champions League spots.

“We know that we don’t depend only on ourselves, but we have to do our job like we did today and win our games.”

United remain sixth after beating Everton and sit eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who host Tottenham – the team between them – on Sunday.

Fifth could yet prove enough for Champions League qualification but the Red Devils will be relying on other teams to improve England’s UEFA coefficient.

United have 10 Premier League matches remaining and now turn their attention to keeping alive their hopes of ending a season to forget with silverware.

Ten Hag’s men host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals next weekend, when a repeat of the kind of sloppiness seen against Everton, particularly in the first half, could lead to an ugly outcome.

“No one gives the ball away on purpose,” Fernandes told Stadium Astro.

“So, you miss the pass, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want.

“Obviously, we need to get high focus in these kind of games (against Everton) because we know they have a really strong counter-press and a really strong counter-attack.

“We know that every ball that they could recover, they will try to get their space and their time to have their chances.

“But I think overall the performance was good, obviously there’s always margin to improve.

“I think keeping more on the ball, more spells with more passes, trying to play higher on the pitch in their half, keep the ball there and then still creating a lot of chances that we create today.”

United take on a Liverpool side whose FA Cup progress led next weekend’s Merseyside derby to be postponed.

That means Everton have three weeks to stew on an 11th successive winless Premier League match, with boss Sean Dyche taking his team on a European training camp next week.

“We want to remind the players of the good side of these performances while putting that demand on the next part of it,” said the Everton manager, whose side return to action at Bournemouth on March 30.

“So, what is it that changes this situation? What is it that occurs when we take responsibility? That’s where we’re trying to get to. That will certainly be part of the demand of these next three weeks.

“We’re all together, make no mistake about that. I lead it. I’ve got no problem with that.

“We’ve got to stay with the consistency of what we’re doing while adding… the only way I can describe it is the will and demand to get hurt to score a goal, where it means that much that you will score a goal.

“When you get tight then, of course, a bit of that freedom can go, but we’re the only ones who can change it.”

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery insists Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash with Tottenham was not on his mind when naming his side for Thursday’s 0-0 Europa Conference League draw at Ajax.

Emery made several changes, with John McGinn, Matty Cash and Leon Bailey among those dropping out, and Villa put in a disjointed performance in the last-16 first-leg tie in Amsterdam.

Villa do not have long to recover ahead of Sunday’s huge clash with Spurs, where they could strengthen their grip on a top-four place and Champions League qualification.

But Emery said: “Not really thinking about Sunday because we decided the starting XI with the players with Tim (Iroegbunam) and Morgan (Rodgers) because we didn’t have one player like Tim after injury to (Boubacar) Kamara.

“Ajax have a lot of young players and with Tim we have to do the same and play around players with experiences.

“We decided to play with Pau Torres but knowing the maximum of him was not 90 minutes because maybe that would be taking a risk.

“McGinn, he had a small pain and was a doubt and I prefer not to take a risk. But more or less I was trying to be positive with those players but really we didn’t control the game like we wanted.”

Villa took off Pau Torres at half-time, but Emery said that was planned.

“Pau had a small injury two weeks ago and didn’t play against Luton and we did a plan with him,” he added.

“The plan before the match is not completely 100 per cent because the result and how the match is going.

“I think tactically we needed to change something and we did, and the plan was to play 45 minutes with Pau and we decided to do that.”

Axel Disasi admitted Chelsea’s 2-2 draw at west London rivals Brentford was two points dropped.

Defender Disasi’s late header secured a point for the Blues, who led through Nicolas Jackson’s first-half goal but then trailed to strikes from Mads Roerslev and Yoanne Wissa.

It was another unconvincing display from Chelsea and one that prompted the away fans to turn on head coach Mauricio Pochettino for the first time.

“To be honest we are left frustrated. I think in the first half we deserve to score maybe one goal more,” Disasi told the club website.

“Then after half time they pushed and we have to do better because we lost two points. I think we had the quality to win the game, so the feeling is a little bit sad.

“I’m happy to score and we didn’t lose because of this goal, that is good. But it would be a much better feeling if this goal was for the win. It was not the case but hopefully will be in the future.”

Wissa scored a spectacular overhead kick which the DR Congo international admitted was the best of his career – despite some stiff competition.

“This is the best one,” he said. “If I have to compare it, a goal against Oldham (in September 2021). But this is better because this is the Premier League against this kind of team.

“Especially in this time – it’s not an easy time for every fan and player – it means a lot to me, especially after coming back from AFCON.

“In the second half we gave only one and a half chances away. The second half was much better.

“Everyone stepped up their level and the crowd was with us. This is how we want it, this is how Brentford play. It means a lot for the team. I’m very happy with that.

“It came from the players. This is what we wanted, some personality.”

Peter Crouch equalled Alan Shearer’s record for headed Premier League goals on this day in 2015.

The then 34-year-old nodded in a 71st-minute winner for Stoke in a 1-0 victory at Hull on February 28, 2015 for his 46th headed goal in the top flight.

Crouch admitted afterwards that he had enjoyed proving wrong those who doubted his aerial ability.

The 6ft 7in striker said: “There were a lot of people in the early days who said I was better on the ground than at heading, so it’s pleasing to rub it in a little bit.

“A lot of people said, for my size, I wasn’t as good (at heading) as I should have been when I was younger. Becoming the record holder for headed goals in the Premier League is something I didn’t think would happen when I was 15 or 16.

“I’m very proud – Alan Shearer’s a hero of mine. He’s one of the best, if not the best, striker the Premier League’s ever seen, and to equal any record of his, I’m very pleased with that.”

Crouch passed the record on May 24 with another headed goal in Stoke’s 6-1 victory over his former club Liverpool to conclude the season and remains the record holder with 53.

The striker moved from Stoke to Burnley in January 2019 and announced his retirement in July the same year.

He ended his career with 108 Premier League goals, having also played for the likes of Tottenham, Portsmouth and Aston Villa, and netted 22 times in 42 appearances for England.

Jorginho insists he is happy for Arsenal to be “in the shadows” of the Premier League title race and fight as underdogs against Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Gunners are just two points off the top of the table after easing to a 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday night.

A Sven Botman own-goal set them on their way before goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Jakub Kiwior rounded off another fine display from Mikel Arteta’s men, although the returning Joe Willock’s late header ruined another clean sheet.

City won the treble last season and remain the favourites to secure a record fourth consecutive Premier League crown – while Liverpool will be aiming to end Jurgen Klopp’s reign in style by winning a second title under the German.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are aiming to go one better than last year when they topped the division for 248 days before ultimately missing out to City.

“I like to be underdogs,” Jorginho said after returning to the starting line-up to put in a man of the match performance against Newcastle.

“Let people speak, we just need to stay humble and keep working hard in the shadows, keep pushing and keep believing.

“That is what we need to do, just keep pushing, pushing and then we will see where we are going to get but we are on the right path.

“We need to keep the momentum going and we can do that. Just working hard the way we are doing and keep believing, keep enjoying this journey together and I think that’s the way that we need to go.”

Arsenal have turned their form around since a mid-season break in Dubai and Jorginho is enjoying his football.

“I think we were creating before but we were not finishing and now it feels that the calls are coming more,” he added.

“It’s a pleasure to see the boys scoring more and they can have fun with the team working hard as well so we are enjoying this moment and we need to just stay humble.

“I’m really happy, not just with my performance but with the team because the team performed very well and that doesn’t happen with everyone.

“It is just a pleasure to be out there enjoying this moment with an incredible team.”

Fit-again Willock came off the bench against his former club to head in a consolation for Newcastle late on in north London.

The 24-year-old is now keen to move on from the defeat and not let it affect the build-up to Tuesday’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Blackburn.

“I think it was a difficult game, they’re a great side, there’s no denying that,” Willock told the club’s official website.

“I think, for us, we just have to stay positive, find those good things to take from the game and we have to take that on Tuesday, it is a big game for us and for our season and let’s put this game behind us.”

The Premier League’s auditor Deloitte has been awarded a key contract in helping to set up football’s independent regulator, the PA news agency understands.

Sources have expressed concern over a potential conflict of interest for financial services firm Deloitte, which signed off the Premier League’s most recent set of annual accounts.

The EFL and campaign groups want the regulator to be able to review whether any new deal agreed between the Premier League and the EFL on how television cash is split meets the regulator’s stated aim of ensuring the sport’s financial sustainability.

The involvement of Deloitte has raised some eyebrows, at a time when the regulator’s precise remit is still unclear as the wait goes on for the publication of the Football Governance Bill.

EFL clubs left a meeting with Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer last week concerned that the regulator would not be given powers to correct any  settlement which is agreed, something which football reform group Fair Game has said would be “unacceptable”.

Government sources say the Deloitte contract will involve the firm providing support around the design and implementation of the regulator’s operating model, and insist the firm will not be providing advice on, or developing, regulator policy.

Deloitte will look at how the regulator is structured, staffed, and its systems and infrastructure requirements, the Government source said.

They said any potential conflicts of interest would be managed in the usual way, and were considered as part of the procurement process.

The Government and Deloitte declined to comment.

EFL chairman Rick Parry told MPs last month that his organisation was prepared to do a deal with the Premier League but stressed that the “right solution” on financial distribution and cost controls would only be reached through independent analysis by the regulator, as part of a planned ‘state of the game’ review once it is up and running.

The EFL has declined to comment following last week’s meeting as it continues dialogue with the Government, but Fair Game – which has 13 EFL clubs within its membership – insists the regulator must have the power to intervene.

“The number one stated aim of the regulator is to secure the financial sustainability of the football pyramid,” Fair Game’s director of advocacy Mike Baker said in a statement issued on Friday.

“So it is not about having any regulator, it’s about having the right regulator. The status quo is not acceptable.

“The proposed backstop powers (of the regulator) currently can only be triggered by the Premier League and the EFL authorities, and if a deal is signed now for six years the regulator will have no powers to correct it.

“That is unacceptable. If the regulator is to achieve its core objectives then it must oversee football’s finances and reward well-run clubs. Anything else and we will have a regulator that lacks the teeth to fix football’s ills.”

The deal under discussion between the Premier League and the EFL is believed to be worth an additional £900million over six years to the EFL’s clubs, but the EFL has strong misgivings over the cost control measures attached to it.

While clubs in the Championship are expected to be capped at spending around 70 per cent of revenue on squad costs, in line with UEFA’s new financial sustainability regulations, those relegated to the second tier are set to be capped at 85 per cent while they are in receipt of parachute payments.

That would mean those clubs being able to spend a greater percentage of a larger amount than non-parachute rivals. Parry believes that puts non-parachute clubs in the “horrendous” position of having to choose between being competitive and sustainable and will widen the cliff edge between the top two divisions.

Top-flight clubs are still to agree on how any extra funding for the EFL is paid for, and on a new financial system for the Premier League to ultimately replace its profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

Premier League clubs are due to gather for further shareholder meetings on February 29 and March 11, with the latter understood to be the more likely to prove decisive in moving this issue forward.

PA understands a number of EFL clubs, even those who had been inclined to agree to the deal, are now feeling more hostile towards the process following the meeting with Frazer which some described as “a car crash”.

Accrington chairman Andy Holt took to social media to voice his concerns about it and felt Frazer was applying pressure to agree to the deal, even though the ball remains in the Premier League’s court at this stage.

Government sources have said Frazer’s position was misinterpreted and that she was advising clubs to do a deal, as has always been the Government’s position, not necessarily to accept the deal that was on the table.

A publication date for the Football Governance Bill, which has the creation of the regulator at its heart, is still understood to be some weeks away after there had been indications it could be published on Monday next week.