Coach Arteta: 'Now is the time to beat Man City'
*Arsenal - Man City: 10pm Sunday, August 6, on MetaSports.
Arsenal have lost all 12 of the last 12 encounters with Man City in the English Premier League. This is their longest losing streak against an opponent in the history of this tournament. If you consider all competitions, the "Gunners" only won one of the last 16 encounters: 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2020 FA Cup. Last season, Arsenal lost all three Man City matches: 1-3 and 1- 4 in the Premier League and 0-1 in the FA Cup. In particular, it was the 1-4 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on April 26 that made the "Gunners" break their dream of winning the Premier League for the first time since the 2003-2004 unbeaten season.
At the press conference before the English Super Cup, when asked about Arsenal's fear of entering the Etihad trip two seasons ago, Arteta replied: "I don't think so, but that game. It started in a way that we didn't want to. Man City were better in every respect and deserved to win. So to win the title on Sunday we will have to play much, much better. Now is the time to beat Man City."
Both coaches Erik ten Hag and Jurgen Klopp said that Man City is the only club that can aim to win the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season. Arteta understands and respects this statement of two colleagues, because Man City plays stably with high performance to win five of the last six seasons. The Spaniard knows the standards and standards set by Man City, and Arsenal must fill that gap if they want to compete for the title.
The Emirates Stadium owner experienced a crazy shopping transfer window when in turn recruited Kai Havertz from Chelsea for a total transfer fee of $ 82 million, Jurrien Timber from Ajax for a total of $ 51 million and Declan Rice for a record fee of 137 million. USD. When asked if these new recruits have helped Arsenal get more points than last season, Arteta replied: "I don't know. We can't compare two seasons. There are other clubs that are also getting stronger and will do well. much more. I wish things were that simple, but it's not."
Arteta revealed that he talked about the ambitions, the project of the club, the role and position of Rice and spoke with the whole family of the English midfielder during the negotiations. The 41-year-old coach praised his students as quality players, with personality, leadership ability and hopes to quickly integrate into the new environment. He also said that he is prioritizing having Havertz play a left-sided central midfielder instead of Granit Xhaka - who has moved to Leverkusen, but also left open the possibility of testing the German player in the winging position, the virtual number 9 or the center.
Regarding the personnel situation, Arteta said winger Bukayo Saka is ready to play after taking a break from the Emirates Cup friendly against Monaco on August 2 due to illness. Arsenal will have the strongest force, except for striker Gabriel Jesus who has to undergo knee surgery, miss the first few weeks of the season and defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is not in the best shape.
