Mikel Arteta makes ’15 players’ demand ahead of Arsenal vs Man City Premier League encounter
On Wednesday night, Arsenal will face Manchester City in the Premier League. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged Gunners fans to rally behind the team.
The Blues travel to the Emirates Stadium with the intention of leapfrogging their opponents in the Premier League standings. Although Arteta’s team has a game in hand, Pep Guardiola’s squad is currently trailing the London club by three points.
If City defeats Arsenal on Wednesday, they will move to the top of the league based on goal differential.
The Gunners have lost their last two Premier League matches, falling to Everton at Goodison Park and drawing with Brentford over the weekend.
Moreover, City won the most recent meeting between the two teams, claiming a 1-0 victory in the fourth round of the FA Cup last month.
Given that City and Arsenal are vying for the Premier League title, the midweek match is viewed as a pivotal match in the title race between the two clubs. In light of this, Gunners manager Arteta has urged supporters to support the team in midweek.
When asked what he anticipates from the crowd at Emirates Stadium, the Spaniard responded: “That we play with 15 players tomorrow. That they are so into it in every single ball, and giving us so much energy and support and basically what they’ve been doing all season. Let’s enjoy a really beautiful night in a really special way.”
Arteta also stated that his team aspires to reach the level that City has reached in recent years, claiming that the Blues are getting closer to the London club.
The former Blues coach went on to describe working under Guardiola at the Etihad as “incredible.”
He added: “What they [Man City] have done in the last six years they absolutely merit it. The way they play, the way they have competed. For us the challenge is to get to that level. We need to use that challenge and that energy. This is where we want to be. That is the level and we’re getting closer to it.”
Discussing what he learned working under Guardiola, Arteta continued: “I was working there. I was studying a lot, but I was working there. It was an incredible experience to be with him, and all the coaching staff and personnel that was there at the time. Like every experience it just added. It made me a better player, a better coach and a better person, for sure. Then you use it in your career after that.”
The last time Arsenal defeated City in the Premier League was in December 2015, when the Gunners won 2-1.
Mikel Arteta makes ’15 players’ demand ahead of Arsenal vs Man City Premier League encounter
