Mikel Arteta says he has ‘something to prove’ today in ManCity Clash

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes they have something to prove ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday.

Last year, the Gunners were one of the few teams in the league to take points off the eventual champions. Arsenal beat City 1-0 at the Emirates and held them to a draw at the Etihad. Despite taking four points of Pep Guardiola’s team, the Gunners still fell short in the final weeks of the campaign.

Recent results show that Arsenal are ready for the challenge on Sunday. The Gunners went to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and secured a 1-0 win against their bitter rivals in the North London derby. Arsenal also avoided defeat in the Champions League midweek despite being outplayed for large parts of the second half by Gian Piero Gasperini’s men.

Mikel Arteta wants a win against Manchester City

After breaking the history of consecutive losses to City last season, there is belief that Arsenal can beat the league holders. Mikel Arteta says a result on Sunday will be ‘the next step’ for his club:

“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,” he said.

“This is the challenge. We have to go there and prove that again we’ve made another step and we can compete.”

During the press conference, the Spaniard also rubbished claims that the reported absence of Kevin De Bruyne could turn the tide in Arsenals favour.

“They have the option if he doesn’t play of Gundogan, Bernardo, Phil Foden, Kovacic,” he added.

“They’re all world-class players.

“We have a few missing as well and we have to adapt, but certainly those kinds of teams don’t rely on one individual which is extremely important for them.”

Consistency is key for the Gunners

In the last two games, the team’s defensive performances have been polar opposites. Arsenal shut out Spurs, but were very shaky against Atalanta who dominated possession and had more shots in the second half of the game.

Mikel Arteta says the team have to be more consistent in that area:

“Yes, we want to improve in certain areas but in order to do that it’s important that we have to be much, much better,” Arteta said.

“We never got distances or the right relationships [against Atalanta], or put the ball in areas where they really suffer. We need to be a lot more consistent if we want the team to flow.

“For sure, we will prepare to try and win. That’s been the message already. In order to do that there are going to be things that we have to do much better than against Atalanta.”