London — Mikel Arteta says Arsenal's charge towards the Premier League title is being fuelled by his players' "unity and togetherness".
Arteta's team sit eight points clear of second-placed Manchester City with 10 games to play.
The Gunners, who host Leeds United on Saturday, have a golden opportunity to win the club's first English title since Arsene Wenger's “Invincibles” in 2004.
After losing 3-1 against City to briefly surrender first place, Arsenal have reeled off six successive league victories to regain control of the title race.
It has been a remarkable season for Arsenal, who began the campaign written off as also-rans after they allowed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to pip them to a top-four finish last term.
Arsenal boss Arteta believes the secret to his team's unexpected success is the strong bond among the squad.
"We have the right level of competition and cooperation because they really want to help each other, but they have to challenge each other as well to benefit the team and lift the standards that we want," Arteta told Sky Sports.
"The secret is probably the unity and togetherness that they have between them.
"They love to spend time with each other, they love to play with each other, they love to play in front of our people and they really have that sense of belonging to the club. That's very powerful, I think."
AFP