‘We are not going to spend one second talking about that’ – Arteta on Sunday’s clash with ‘arguably the best team and best manager this league has ever seen’ | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta says he will “not spend one second” talking about playing for a draw at Manchester City.

Having thrown away the chance to go 12 points clear at the top of the table after a defeat by Bournemouth, Arsenal now find themselves with Manchester City hot on their heels. Pep Guardiola’s side have a chance to cut the gap to just three points when the league leaders visit the Etihad on Sunday, and also have a game in hand on the Gunners.

The City manager did not shy away from the importance of the fixture, and neither did Mikel Arteta when asked if it was the most important match of his career.

“It is certainly the most important one because it is the next one,” Arteta said. “We have earned the right to be in this position and to be challenging and with an opportunity to win against arguably the best team and best manager this league has ever seen and that is a huge privilege.”

Stay up to date with all the latest Arsenal news by joining our Arsenal WhatsApp channel. 

While City come into the meeting a week after their 3-0 win against Chelsea, Arsenal’s turnaround is just three days, following their narrow win on aggregate against Sporting Lisbon to progress to the last four of the Champions League.

It is the first time in the club’s history that they have reached back-to-back Champions League semi finals, and Arteta has said his team will use that momentum to fuel them on Sunday.

“It really gave us a boost because to be part of the best European clubs is a big thing and we have not been there that often, so we really value that,” the manager said. “We give huge credit to the players for what they have done.

“We have to use that fuel, that energy that it gave us for the big game that we have to play.”

Despite the fact that a draw would do well to keep City at bay at least for now, Arteta has insisted that his side are only focused on walking away from the meeting with three points: “We are not going to spend one second talking about that (a draw).

“We prepare every game to win that is why we are where we are and we are going to continue to do the same,” he concluded.

If you enjoy our articles, help us out by making Hayters.com one of your preferred sources on Google by clicking here.