'Something is different this year'

It is "very important" for Arsenal to keep themselves in contention for the Premier League until the end, says former midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The Gunners put themselves back on top of the table on Tuesday night with a thumping 5-0 win over London rivals Chelsea.

While Manchester City can leapfrog them again if they win their two games in hand, starting at Brighton on Thursday, back-to-back victories mean Arsenal seem to have put their recent blip behind them.

Having lost their lead in the title race at this stage last season, Fabregas feels Mikel Arteta's side are in a better place this time around.

"One of the big positives is that last year Arsenal struggled at this moment in time and they let it go [whether it was] for maturity, for inexperience, for football, for whatever you want," he said on the Planet Premier League podcast.

"But this year, they are there and there's a few games to go.

"You see that something is different. That the fans, that the players and the club believe. The people outside as well believe, even if they are not Arsenal fans or they see potentially that Arsenal can do something special this year - that's the most important.

"The players understand that this is a unique moment and they will not let it go [and will] go after Man City, who can be better because if they win all their games they will be champions.

"To be there at least until the end is very, very important for Arsenal this year."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds