Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal must be at the top of their game to beat Manchester City in their Premier League clash on Wednesday evening.
Arteta, who succeeded Unai Emery in the United Arab Emirates in December, is expected to return to his former club, with which he was number 2 for Pep Guardiola from 2016 to 2019.
“It’s going to be a very special evening,” Arteta told media before the match. “I am very happy to be back there.”
“Now I’m in a different position on a different bench. I will defend my club as well as possible. “
Meanwhile, hot-fired Gunners goalkeeper Bernt Leno said the city game would prove to be a very different test from West Ham’s victory on Saturday.
“I think against Manchester City maybe they will have more possession so it will be a completely different game [to Saturday’s win over West Ham].
“It depends on the game, it depends on the tactics. I think you can see that against Chelsea they had a lot of possession and were still playing around the box and in the end we got a 2-2 with one player less.
“Maybe this kind of game suits us. I think we have to respect this team, they have a lot of quality for sure, but we also want to return to London with at least one point. “
talkSPORT.com has listed below the rest of the best excerpts from Arteta’s press conference…
On the hopes of the Champions League
“I don’t know. There is still a long way to go. We want to go game by game.
“Three weeks ago, it was impossible. Now that seems a little more possible. “
On the plunge of Man City
“Sometimes small details make the difference. I think they were very unlucky.
“It’s football. It can happen.
“We have to be at our best, for sure we have a chance to win the game.
“We are in two different processes and levels, we have to be at our best.”
On Lacazette
It’s his way of training every day. The way he tries, the way he played even when he didn’t score.
“His attitude is at the top.”
On Saka’s contract
“The club does what it has to do and has conversations. I hope we will get a result. “
On the coronavirus
“It seems to be affecting more and more countries every time.
“We are just following what the government and the club are saying. We have to adapt to the situation.
“These are just a few routines that we need to be more careful of, minimal contact. For the rest, we act normally.”