'I nearly bottled the title with Arsenal - it's disrespectful what is being said about Mikel Arteta'

Nigel Winterburn was part of the iconic Arsenal side that nearly bottled the 1989 title - so he knows exactly the type of pressure Mikel Arteta's stars are under. The Gunners have Manchester City breathing down their necks, and a loss on Sunday when the two heavyweights go toe-to-toe would be catastrophic.

If Arsenal fail to make the most of their fourth successive title battle, there is the feeling that heads should roll. However, Winterburn says calls for Arteta to be sacked should Arsenal fail to win the Premier League this season are premature and "disrespectful".

Winterburn won three league titles with Arsenal between 1989 and 1998. And his Gunners side nearly threw away the first of these - just like Arteta's side are trying their best to do now.

A poor run of results left Arsenal heading to Anfield on the final day of the 1988/89 campaign in second place, three points behind their hosts. They needed to win by two clear goals to leapfrog Liverpool on goal difference and claim the title.

Alan Smith struck on 53 minutes to give the north Londoners hope before Michael Thomas bagged a dramatic second to clinch the trophy deep into added time, completing one of the most incredible comeback stories in English football history.

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Speaking with Mirror Football via Casino Guru, a comparison platform where players can explore the best online casinos available in the UK, Winterburn reflected: "This season reminds me a little bit of 1989 when we won the league. In the two games before winning the title, we lost to Derby at home and then drew with Wimbledon.

"Nobody told us we'd go to Liverpool at Anfield and win by two goals. Most people told us it was impossible. Imagine what social media would have been like if it was around back then.

"So I've been in a similar situation. That was my first winning trophy at Arsenal as well. I fully understand what's going on, and you've just got to focus on what's ahead of you. Players and manager, they won't be looking at anything else. A big performance on Sunday will push them a long, long way to being able to claim the Premier League title, which has eluded us for a long time."

Fast forward to the present day, and Arsenal lead Manchester City by six points. However, Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand. The Gunners' once nine-point gap could be slashed to three if they lose at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday.

And should City go one better three days later against Burnley, they could leapfrog the Gunners into first on goal difference.

This season marks the north Londoners' best opportunity to lift the trophy in May, given they've led the table for most of the season.

Yet a poor run of results in recent weeks has sparked accusations that Arsenal will once again let the title slip away. They saw their quadruple hopes quickly fall apart with a 2-0 defeat by City in the Carabao Cup final earlier this month, followed by a shock FA Cup exit at Southampton.

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The 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth last weekend only added to the relentless pressure.

Understandably, anxiety within Arsenal circles is through the roof ahead of the crunch fixture with City, with some speculating that Arteta could be sacked or voluntarily resign if the Gunners bottle a fourth consecutive title race.

"To me, it's not even something that I really even want to entertain because I think that's very disrespectful to Arteta. I think it's also disrespectful to the club to be talking about a manager that could present something to Arsenal that they haven't had for a long time," Winterburn added.

"I think most clubs will have a review at the end of the season. Depending on if Arsenal win anything, what they do, they'll then look internally too, like always, not only at staff, but they'll also look at players and where they can improve again. So I could say if Arsenal go and win at the weekend, most people say the title is virtually theirs. So it's very interesting from three weeks ago how people were thinking to how they're thinking now."

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