Arsenal must ’embrace’ being title favourites as Arteta’s ‘process’ concludes – Henry | OneFootball

Arsenal must “embrace” being favourites for the Premier League title, says club legend Thierry Henry.

The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the table after beating north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 at the Emirates on Sunday.

Ex-Spurs transfer target Ebere Eze was the star of the show, bagging a hat-trick on an incredible day for him.

Arsenal lead Premier League title race: F365 Tables

Mikel Arteta’s side now the odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to win the title, and this is something they should “embrace”, not shy away from.

This is according to the club’s all-time leading goalscorer Henry, who didn’t actually say Arsenal will win the league, only that they should act like it’s going to happen.

“At some point, you have to embrace it. People are talking about the process,” Henry told Sky Sports.

“It’s not believing in the process anymore. It’s happening. You have to be honest.

“We put ourselves in the situation where we believe we have the best squad.

“Did we mention the players that were not playing? Look at how we played. You’re not complaining anymore about one or two.

“So you need to make sure that you can win the league. I’m not saying they are going to win it but you need to act like you are the favourite.

“Embrace it. It’s not me trying to put pressure. If I were coming back in the summer, I would have said, ‘It’s time to stop messing around’.

“We now need a performance this year where people are scared of us. It’s not being cocky.”

However, Arsenal manager Arteta says he and his players must take things “game by game”.

“You have to go game by game,” he said. “The league is so tough – you look at the results yesterday and today and the margins teams are winning matches for, it’s super reduced.

“We know it’s going to be a long journey, we’re really excited with what we’re doing and we have to maintain that momentum.”

Chelsea are now Arsenal’s closest competitors after they won at Burnley and Manchester City lost to Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

It was City’s fourth league defeat of the season and leaves them seven points adrift the Gunners, while Chelsea are six points behind.

After winning the North London Derby, it’s an even bigger week for Arsenal, who host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before a huge match at Chelsea on Sunday.

The games will come thick and fast in December, with matches against Brentford, Aston Villa, Club Brugge and Wolves coming in a 10-day period.

After seven days off, Arsenal will have another four games in 10 days as they face Everton, Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, Brighton and the return fixture against Villa.