Ahead of the high-stakes clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is confident of Mikel Arteta’s squad snatching victory at the Etihad Stadium.
As reported by UK Metro, the 76-year-old French tactician, who managed Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, expressed confidence that the London club has assimilated the lessons from their previous season’s setbacks and is poised to break their 20-year Premier League title drought.
For the second consecutive year, Mikel Arteta’s emerging team leads the league table, narrowly ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with reigning champions Manchester City trailing by a single point.
Reflecting on Arsenal‘s form a year ago when injuries plagued the team, resulting in a downturn culminating in a 4-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium, Wenger acknowledges the marked improvement in resilience within his former team. He concurs that they are better equipped to withstand the pressures of competing against the formidable Manchester City.
“I believe so,” Wenger affirmed to his former player, Freddie Ljungberg, when queried about Arsenal’s title aspirations of winning the Premier League title.
“The next game will be a little decider because we will go to Man City. Why not? City is always a difficult team to play but maybe not as dominant as they were last year at the moment but that can always come. They know how to do it, they have the knowledge, they have been there.
“Arsenal has the capacity but they have to show they can do it now. I hope and I’m convinced they have learned from last year. Last year the tension got to them and they dropped in the final sprint.
“Maybe this year because they have two competitions to go for they might be a bit more relaxed.’
On the other side, despite facing a slew of injuries, Arteta asserts that his squad is now better prepared to tackle the significance of a fixture that could define the title race.
“Last season there were many factors that didn’t help us,” Arteta said.
“We got the injuries in the Sporting game, and there was a lot happening and that momentum shifted to a more negative momentum.
“We were struggling to keep up [with City] because they kept winning, they won 14 or 15 games in a row and they managed to do it.
“It showed the level that we are facing and where we want to be. Certainly, that’s where we want to be and you have to make strong steps to get there.
“I think we have made some big ones in the last two or three years and we’re getting much closer and now it is about how you close that gap and actually try to be better than them.”
