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Martin Odegaard promised Arsenal would fight until the end but conceded his side were in a difficult position to stop Liverpool from winning the Premier League title.

The Gunners have been cast 16 points behind leaders Liverpool – who beat bottom side Southampton on Saturday – ahead of their trip to Manchester United on Sunday.

Arsenal’s clash at Old Trafford will mark the first of their concluding 11 matches in the league and their chances of catching the Reds are hanging by a thread.

Mikel Arteta’s squad have led the league for the past two seasons before having to settle as runner-up to Manchester City.

And speaking ahead of Sunday’s fixture, captain Odegaard said: “We’ll fight until the end. That’s the mindset of everyone.

“We’ve been fighting three years in a row for the title and you go a couple of years back, we were leading with a lot of points and then we finished second.

“It shows that everything is possible and the main thing is to keep going, keep working hard and day-by-day get better in the games and then we’ll see.

“We’ve put ourselves in a difficult position at the moment but we have to keep going, we have to try to win every time we play and then we’ll see what happens with Liverpool.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (centre) applauds after the final whistle
Mikel Arteta’s squad have led the league for the past two seasons before finishing runner-up (Peter Lous/PA)

Arsenal head to Old Trafford after drawing two blanks against West Ham and Nottingham Forest in the league.

However, they will have renewed confidence following their record 7-1 demolition job of PSV Eindhoven in the opening leg of their last-16 Champions League clash, which puts them firmly on course for the quarter-finals.

The Gunners will also be keen to avenge their FA Cup third-round defeat to Manchester United when they lock horns on Sunday.

Arsenal will start the match as favourites following a torrid campaign for United which leaves them 14th in the table, 21 points adrift of the Gunners.

But Odegaard, who returned to scoring form with two goals in the Netherlands on Tuesday, added: “It’s always tough when you play them.

“They’re not where they want to be in the table. It’s a big club which has struggled a little bit but we know the quality they have when they’re really on it and they have a lot of good individual players that we have to be ready for.

“But we go there to win. We’re Arsenal and we’re not scared. There’s always more to play for at the end of the season but every game in this league is so important from the start to the end.

“Hopefully we can – like last year – hit the top form towards the end and then we’ll see where that takes us in the league and also in the Champions League.”