Mikel Arteta has stated that their match against Manchester City, which is set to take place on Wednesday, will not determine the Premier League title.
Arsenal is currently at the top of the league, five points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side, who have two games in hand. Arsenal has drawn three consecutive league matches, and Arteta acknowledges that the Etihad Stadium game will be difficult. However, he insists that it will not decide the season.
Arteta is confident in his team’s belief, saying that they “defend each other in every moment,” and that they want to win the league. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that at this point in the season, “it has to be perfect” to achieve success.
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Arsenal has not won the Premier League since 2004, and Arteta believes that it will take more than one win against Manchester City to win the title. He acknowledges that City and Liverpool were the teams to beat from the start of the season and that they deserve credit for their achievements in the past six to seven years.
Despite this, Arsenal is ready to compete and close the gap between them and the other top teams. Arteta reported that midfielder Granit Xhaka is doubtful for the City fixture due to illness, while centre-back William Saliba has not shown much improvement in his recovery from an injury sustained in the Europa League penalty shootout loss to Sporting Lisbon in March.
