Arsenal travel to Etihad to take on Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday in a mouth-watering contest that could well decide the title race at the end of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have finished second behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in each of the two previous seasons and the Arsenal boss opined that they are in a position to rise up to the daunting task of pushing City off the mantle for the crown for the first time in five years.
City, who have claimed a record four titles on the bounce, stand atop the PL table with 12 points in four games, with Arsenal hot on their heels with 10 points to their name.
Arsenal also managed to stay unbeaten against City in the previous edition of the English top-flight season with a 1-0 win at home and a 0-0 draw against City on the road.
Arteta hailed the strength of the dominant City unit but rallied his men to step up to the task at hand and prove their credentials.
“We go to the home of the champions. The team that I think in Premier League history has been the most consistent ever, not only in terms of results but in terms of dominance and consistent top performances,” said Arteta at his pre-match presser.
“This is the challenge, we have to go there and prove that again we’ve made another step and we can compete,” the Spaniard added.
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Arsenal, who are chasing their first title in over two decades, did not concede a goal to City last year and have just let one goal in the ongoing season, against Brighton when they were down to 10 men.
City have had an extra day to rest as compared to Arsenal due to their respective UEFA Champions League assignments during the week, as City played out a goalless stalemate against Inter at home on Wednesday, while Arsenal came back from Atalanta with a point in a 0-0 draw on Thursday.
Arteta asserted that the position the Gunners find themselves in at the moment is something they had aspired to be in for years and that they needed to capitalise on the same.
“We want to be in the position we’re in, we dreamed of this years ago and we’re in this position right now. Let’s make the most out of it and let’s enjoy it,” Arteta added.
“We know what it means, we know what we’re fighting for and it’s a great opportunity for the team to show what we’re capable of,” he concluded.
