Martial urges teammates to keep feet on ground

Frenchman feels United shouldn't let impressive start to new season get to their heads

SWANSEA: Anthony Martial has warned Manchester United not to get carried away by their impressive start to the Premier League season as the leaders head to Swansea on Saturday.

An emphatic 4-0 victory over West Ham in their opening game suggested United have shaken off a tendency to draw matches they should be winning, putting them in good spirits for the trip to south Wales.

United were held to 15 league draws last season, more than any other team in the top division, and one of them was against Swansea at Old Trafford in April.

Jose Mourinho's side look much better equipped now to deal with sides who sit deep and try to frustrate them; their attacking verve was too much for a defensively minded Hammers side last Sunday.

The British record £75 million fee paid to Everton for Romelu Lukaku already looks like money well spent, with the Belgium striker scoring twice on his league debut, while Nemanja Matic, a £40 million recruit from Chelsea, was outstanding in midfield.

Mourinho's men look well set to improve on last season's sixth place finish and the United manager has even spoken of a title challenge this season.

He has won the domestic title in his second season in each of his last five managerial positions — at Porto, Chelsea twice, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

With Chelsea faltering at home to Burnley last weekend, Mourinho's hopes of marking his second season at Old Trafford by winning the Premier League may just have grown a little.

Not that it's time to start dreaming of future glory just yet, according to United striker Martial, who scored against West Ham after coming off the bench.

"As a squad, we haven't really talked about specific aims for the season too much so far, but the goal is to win as many titles as possible," he said. "That is what we tried to do last year and it's what we are going to try to do this year."

Arsenal in search of Sanchez tonic at Stoke

Arsenal head to Stoke City this weekend aiming to register a second victory of the season and divert attention away from continuing questions about the future of Alexis Sanchez.

Arsene Wenger's side kicked off the Premier League campaign in exciting, if not entirely convincing, fashion against Leicester City, coming from behind to register a 4-3 victory thanks to a late Olivier Giroud winner.

Sanchez, currently sidelined by an abdominal injury, is out of contract at the end of the season, but despite interest in him from a number of clubs, Wenger would rather lose him for nothing next year than sell him now.

"We have to make a choice between efficiency on the field and financial interest and most of the time if you can find a good compromise, it's better," said the Arsenal manager. "But in this case, I think I prioritise the fact that he will be useful on the sporting side."

The win over Leicester was the kind of performance that suggested the inconsistencies that dogged Arsenal last term have not gone away.

Wenger will hope a repeat of last season's victory at the bet365 stadium will make a more compelling case for his side to be considered strong title contenders.