When Jurrien Timber joined Arsenal two years ago he was given a tour of the training ground by the club’s then sporting director Edu Gaspar. Edu pointed to a silhouetted cut-out of the Premier League trophy on one wall. “Here, we leave the trophy dark ...

In terms of timing, the news that Edu is set to leave Arsenal couldn’t really have been worse for the club. They’re on this bad run, and it suddenly paints the picture of dysfunction behind the scenes that could further affect what happens on the pitch.

Mikel Arteta says he wants to use the nervous energy of crowd at Emirates Stadium to push Arsenal on in the title race, ahead of a huge game against Aston Villa. The Gunners beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to stay two points clear at the top of the Premier League, but what should have been a comfortable win was anything but.

The league leaders are still without Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera but Gabriel came on to make his first appearance since November.

Wayne Rooney, by virtue of his lengthy spell as a player in the Premier League for Manchester United, played under one of the greatest managers of all time in Sir Alex Ferguson – and so it's fair to say that he knows what a top-tier boss looks like.