Arsenal have been defended by Birmingham City captain Tory Deeney, amid's recent claims that the Gunners have 'bottled' the Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta's side have drawn their last three matches having led 2-0 in two of them, leading to questions over whether the North London club are cracking under the pressure of being involved in a title battle. The Gunners lead Manchester City at the top by five points although the Citizens have two games in hand.
Both teams face each other on Wednesday in what is possibly a title decider with Arsenal on paper having the harder run-in towards the end of the season. Arteta's team face Newcastle, Chelsea and high-lying Brighton in their next three fixtures after travelling to the Etihad.
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But Deeney believes that whatever happens, accusations that Arsenal have 'bottled it' are unfounded as reported in Football.London.
When asked on BBC Match of the Day 2 if it was fair to say the Gunners had bottled the title, he replied by saying: "Nah, it's not fair at all. I think if you start the season, you'd have said 'Arsenal are where they are now', everyone would have laughed at you.
"They've done unbelievably well, I think the manager and the team have created an identity over the last 18 months that shows that they're building and I think, you know, from a personal point of view, I think (Martin) Odegaard has took (sic) them to another level.
"I know (Bukayo) Saka gets the plaudits, I know (Gabriel) Jesus and (Oleksandr) Zinchenko (do too), but for me Odegaard is the one that is leading by example."
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