On Sunday afternoon, Manchester City take on Arsenal in a title clash. Here’s what managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta had to say in the pre-match press conferences earlier today.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his title-challenging team need to show they can take the next step by getting a result away against champions.
The Gunners drew 0-0 when they visited the champions last season and are now looking for their first win at the Etihad Stadium since January 2015.
Arteta said: “We’ve been preparing for this since pre-season. Obviously, we knew the schedule and we knew that it’s extremely rare to play in these conditions with three massive away games in six days, but it was what it was.
“This is the challenge, we have to go there and prove that again we’ve made another step and we can compete.”
Embed from Getty ImagesMan City could be without influential midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who is an injury doubt, but Arteta doesn’t feel the Belgian’s absence would overly weaken the title-holders.
He said: “We have a few missing as well and we have to adapt, but certainly those kinds of teams don’t rely on one individual, which is extremely important for them.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked if he was playing mind games with Arsenal over the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne. He said: “No I’m not good on that, he feels a bit better today. Tomorrow we’re training and we’ll see. He could be involved.”
In terms of what is at stake on Sunday, Guardiola said: “Nothing more than the mood over the next few games. In this early stage of the season.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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