ISAAN KHAN: Arsenal’s ruthless slaying of Brighton will feel like an elbow to the gut for their title rivals… the Gunners will take some stopping if their current away form continues

Brighton’s brutal defeat on their opponents’ turf felt like a swift elbow from Arsenal in the gut of their two title rivals, for a more pertinent reason than the score itself.

In the Premier League, Arsenal have scored the most goals (75), conceded the fewest (24) and kept the most clean sheets (14).

Yet it was the north London club’s form away from home that saw them temporarily disappear from the Championship.

Three of their four defeats in the league this season – Newcastle, Aston Villa and Fulham – all came on the opposition’s pitch.

Now the Gunners are unbeaten in their last six away games in the league – and it is this recent ability to pick up wins on the road that could well settle this toughest title race.

Arsenal moved to the top of the table before the match between Liverpool and Manchester United

Arsenal’s current excellent form on the road could sway the title in the Gunners’ favour

Arsenal will take on Tottenham and Manchester United on enemy territory in their last four matches. With Manchester City and Liverpool battling them at the top, wins in both matches are non-negotiable if the Gunners are to claim a first title since 2004.

Asked whether Saturday’s convincing 3-0 win boosted the team’s confidence going into a tough away final, Mikel Arteta said: ‘Yes, it does. This is really a very difficult place to get to and win, but also in the way and the formula that we did. Hopefully we can continue what we are doing.

‘We know we will have to play (well) because we have won ten and drawn one of the last eleven and are not at the top of the league.

“It’s like ‘Come on!’, but this is the level and that’s why we have to improve so quickly as a team to be there.”

It wasn’t just an away win either. The scars of a 3-0 defeat here in May, amid Arsenal’s eight-point implosion to cede last season’s title to Man City, will somehow still have been present – even if Arteta joked on Saturday: ‘I forgot (that ) already!’

It asks the question: what clicked away from home?

“It’s about performances,” he said. ‘You have to earn the right to win in this competition and the teams ask you a lot of questions.

‘There are a lot of things you have to control to win a Premier League match away from home and the team seems to control those moments much better and feel comfortable in different phases of the game, when the teams demand different things. That’s a big step as a team.’

Arsenal’s away trips to Manchester United and Tottenham could decide whether the title goes to the Emirates, or to Liverpool or Manchester City

Traveling to Man United and north London rivals Spurs won’t be easy. Such atmospheres, especially the final encounter, would test the strongest-willed players.

But if the Gunners can continue in the same vein as they have in recent weeks on enemy territory, they will need some respite.