Arsenal’s draw with Bournemouth may be a major blow to their title hopes but midfielder Aaron Ramsey has warned their rivals they will not give up hope of a first Premier League title in 13 years.

The Gunners trailed 3-0 at Bournemouth on Tuesday, as goals from Charlie Daniels, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser put them firmly in control.

But Arsenal staged a dramatic late comeback as Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Perez and Olivier Giroud all scored to earn the Gunners a valuable point.

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The result left Arsenal eight points off league leaders Chelsea before they played Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

And though Ramsey knows it is going to be hard to reel the Blues in, he believes the title race is far from over.

“We’re prepared to fight until the end. That’s the message we hope to give out, but it’s going to be difficult now,” he said.

“We’re a few points behind but there’s a long way to go, so hopefully there’ll still be a few more twists and turns.

“Overall, we’re pleased with the character we showed but we’re still disappointed.”

Aitor Karanka admits Middlesbrough will only move for players of the right calibre in this month’s transfer window as they look to strengthen their options on the pitch.

Boro have recorded four wins, seven draws and nine defeats this season upon their return to the Premier League.

They have failed to win in three games however, losing to Burnley and Manchester United as well as playing out a goalless draw with Leicester City last time out.

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That has left them dropping towards the danger zone in the table although the club are currently in talks with Aston Villa about signing Rudy Gestede to boost their attacking ranks.

And while eyeing up a busy transfer window, Karanka was also keen to stress how far the team has progressed in the last 12 months.

“I want to finish the transfer market with a better squad than we have now. We have one month to do our things,” he said.

“The group has been working really well, in the same way that we did in pre-season, so it’s a case of keeping going and be focused on the games.

“I said after the game at West Ham or Man Utd on Saturday, I don’t want to say anything about my players because all of them since the first day up to now are working hard.

“But when you have an opponent team with players like Payet or Ibrahimovic or Pogba, it’s hard.

“We have to know it’ll be difficult to win games as we can’t forget we were in the Championship last season.

“But we have to be organised, not concede goals and try to take chances. If we can’t win the games then at least don’t lose them.”

John O’Shea insists Sunderland have the required strength in depth to cope when their squad is tested in January.

The Black Cats have a long injury list and will also lose Lamine Kone, Didier Ndong and Wahbi Khazri to international duty at the African Cup of Nations.

David Moyes has hinted at recruiting new faces in the transfer window to cope but Sunderland impressed in earning a 2-2 draw with Liverpool last time out.

And club captain O’Shea is confident his side are on the right track in their bid to beat the drop.

“Hopefully we can get a bit of help in,” he said. “The injuries are tough but the other guys have to step up and take responsibility.

“Didier was fantastic, we’ll lose him but it was good to see the application he showed for the whole game.

“We’ll lose him for a few weeks, Lamine and Wahbi too.

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“But that might mean a chance for some of the younger boys.

“You never know we might get some help too [in the transfer window].”

Manchester United may be sixth in the Premier League table and ten points off the pace but club legend Gary Neville says manager Jose Mourinho has turned their fortunes around.

United have won their last six Premier League games after a poor start to the season, with new signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all proving increasingly influential.

The Red Devils have struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, winning just one trophy – the FA Cup last season.

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But Neville believes they are showing signs of becoming a major threat once again, even if the title is out of reach this year.

“They’ve probably left themselves too much to do. Their next league game is a big one, a really big one, a home game against Liverpool.

“I think that will really determine where Manchester United are at for the rest of the season.

“I think if they can win that match, you can really see them being quite dangerous. They are on the up, they’re getting better, a lot better than they were last season.

“The team is better, they’ve got more arrogance, more personality, and in the last two games they’ve been starting to win a lot more like Manchester United used to win.”

Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna insists his side’s fighting spirit will see them hit top gear once again in the Premier League title race, with leaders Chelsea not out of touch just yet.

With four victories from their last five league games, including a come-from-behind win over Arsenal, to say City are in a slump would of course be harsh.

But Pep Guardiola’s side have suffered big blows to their confidence with losses to Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea since the start of December, and have certainly lost the air of invincibility they possessed at the beginning of the campaign.

The Citizens were unconvincing again in a 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday – although not helped by the sending off of Fernandinho for the third time in six games – but Sagna is adamant they showed the fighting qualities required to get them back on track.

“It’s way too early to talk about the title,” said the 33-year-old right-back. “We are focusing on the next game.

“Of course, it will be hard to catch Chelsea but we need to stay professional, keep these kinds of performances and we will see.

“I think we were fighters and it was vital if we wanted to take the three points and we managed to do it.

“We had the fans pushing behind us. We always want more [from the fans]. As much as they need us to perform, we need them to support us.

“Believe me, it makes a massive difference when you hear the fans and they put pressure on the other team. It makes their life difficult.”

It’s probably fair to say that if you were looking for ‘beautiful’ football, The Hawthorns would not be your first point of call.

But West Brom defender Gareth McAuley admits his side are not sorry to keep on scoring goals from set-pieces after their third win in five games.

The festive period has been kind to the Baggies with victories over Hull City, Southampton and Swansea – while their two defeats came against Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Manchester United.

McAuley scored his fourth league goal of the season against Hull on Monday via the help of goalline technology, rising highest to nod Matt Phillips’ corner home, and he insists that as long as the goals keep on coming he does not mind how easy they are on the eye.

“The delivery from set-pieces from the lads is fantastic,” said the 37-year-old. “We look at things and work out areas to hit.

“If the delivery is right it always gives you a chance to get something on it and we make no apologies for scoring goals in that way.

“It’s always nice to get a goal, especially when it helps us win a game too. I was saying to the ref that the goal was tight and thank goodness for your watch.

“He mentioned that without the technology it probably wouldn’t have been given, so of course I am thankful, but it was a good half-inch over the line.”

A Premier League debut is what countless young footballers dream of, but Southampton’s Jack Stephens could scarcely hide his disappointment after making his debut in a 3-0 loss to Everton.

The 22-year-old came on for Cédric at Goodison Park after the Portuguese defender departed injured following a collision with the advertising hoardings after six minutes.

Goals from Enner Valencia, Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku meant it was a baptism of fire for the English youngster and he admits it was a bittersweet moment.

“It’s a massive achievement for me to play in the Premier League, but it’s always going to get overshadowed by the result which is the main thing,” the former Plymouth Argyle youngster said.

“Obviously you want to win the game or get a positive result so that overshadows any joy at making my debut.

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“I’d done the warm-up so it was probably better to come on that point than after half an hour when everyone has settled into the game.”

And with Claude Puel’s side slipping to tenth in the Premier League after three consecutive festive losses to Tottenham, West Brom and then Everton, Stephens wants to push on and return the faith shown in him by the manager.

He added: “I just want to play as many games as possible at the highest level. I’m thankful to the manager for giving me the opportunity and hopefully I can keep working hard and repay him with performances.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche felt his side’s narrow 2-1 defeat at title hopefuls Manchester City on Monday was‘one that got away’.

Pep Guardiola’s side took a 2-0 lead over the Lancashire outfit through Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero, despite having Brazilian Fernandinho dismissed for a two-footed challenge in the first half.

Ben Mee pulled one back for Burnley 20 minutes from time, and despite applying late pressure, the visitors could not force an equaliser.

Dyche praised his side’s efforts, but lamented a ‘loss of focus’ which he believes led to the defeat.

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“I think it’s the one that got away today and that’s unfortunate,” he said.

“It’s tough to come to these places and it was a strange affair because 11 v 11 I felt we looked strong.

“They went down to 10 men and that put us off kilter a little bit before half time.

“They made two changes at half time and that definitely affected the game and we kind of lost the feel of the game.

“There was no lack of will or demand, we just lost our focus. But equally you have to give them credit because the two changes they made were strong.

“We came away from what we do and that allowed them the chance to get into the game.”

Ronald Koeman’s Everton wrapped up a second win from three festive clashes against Southampton yesterday and the Dutchman believes they are now primed to attack the Premier League in January.

Enner Valencia, Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku all scored as the Toffees put three past Southampton at Goodison Park and with a win away to Leicester and a draw with Hull, they sealed seven points from a potential nine to leave them seventh in the English top flight.

With Manchester United and Tottenham both on winning runs, Everton have seen a nine-point gap open up to fifth and sixth place, but Koeman is nevertheless confident his side can push on in January.

“It is always nice to have a strong result at home and a clean sheet. It boosts confidence. It was a tough period over Christmas but seven points from nine is really good,” he explained.

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“I mentioned to the players at half time to play at a higher tempo and we did that much better in the second half.

“It is always difficult to create big chances, Southampton are a strong team, but we made the difference in the final part of the game.

“The result is very good and we got a clean sheet. We had good organisation about our defending and were defensively strong, and we know we can score goals. The final 30 minutes was very good.”

Slaven Bilic said he was proud of West Ham United’s performance despite their 2-0 loss to Manchester United at the London Stadium on Monday.

Goals from Juan Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Jose Mourinho’s side their sixth Premier League win in a row.

Bilic felt his side were hard done by when referee Mike Dean sent off Sofiane Feghouli after a clash with Phil Jones early in the game, while Ibrahimovic fired home United’s second from what appeared to be an offside position.

The Croatian manager praised his side’s battling efforts, and revealed he was “frustrated” about the outcome of the game.

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“I’m pleased with the performance,” he said. “We fought very hard and if we gave everything and I told the guys that if we put in this work for each other then we’re going to be very good in the table.

“Of course I’m gutted about the result but to do what we did with ten men against a very good team is very difficult.

“Despite that, we nearly found a way. We had one or two chances when it was still 0-0 and in these moments when you are one man down, you have to score. We didn’t score and then they scored and won the game.

“I’m very frustrated with the result and very frustrated with the way we lost it, but very proud of my team.”