Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are going to Manchester City to win but admits his side’s “flow” requires them to be far more consistent on the ball.
While the Gunners can take credit for remaining unbeaten this season, the Spaniard’s side have looked far from their fluid best, spending the majority of the last two-and-a-half games trying to figure out how to operate efficiently without Martin Odegaard and/or Declan Rice.
Victory in the north London derby and Wednesday’s draw with Atalanta were both built on defensive solidity – nothing to be sniffed at given the circumstances – but it’s clear the manager expects more.
“We want to improve in certain areas but in order to do that it’s important that we have to be much, much better,” noted Arteta.
“We never got distances or the right relationships, or put the ball in areas where they really suffer. We need to be a lot more consistent if we want the team to flow. We lost control of the game [in Italy] because we were very inconsistent with the ball.”
On his side’s mentality heading into Sunday’s clas at the Etihad, he continued: “For sure we will prepare to try and win. That’s been the message already.
“In order to do that there are going to be things that we have to do much better than against Atalanta.
“There are some things that we have done exceptionally well and we are going to have to do them again. Because we all know we need a big performance to beat them.”
Odegaard’s ankle injury, which could rule him out until November, is certainly a big headache. The Norway international has been Arteta’s conductor on the pitch, making 44 goal contributions in 93 appearances while also bringing energy to the Gunners’ pressing game.
In his absence, the onus is on other players to step up. It’s something Bukayo Saka promises they will do.
“You know how much I love Martin. He is a world-class player and we are going to miss him. We have to adapt,” the winger told The Mirror.
“We have strength and players who can also play in his position. We will find a solution until he is back.”
In the short term, it wouldn’t be surprising if Arsenal continued to lean into their current strengths even if that brings more eye-rolling from some quarters. The club remains unbeaten on the road in the Premier League in 2024 keeping nine clean sheets in 11 matches.
The form of centre-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba has been central to that with Arteta enthusing: “They are in a great moment and have been very, very consistent for the past two seasons together.
“There is an unbelievable chemistry there and you can sense it. They gave us a lot against Atalanta – I thought they were both exceptional.”
For his part, Saliba says his relationship with Gabriel comes down to familiarity.
“There’s no secret,” the Frenchman told Arsenal.com. “I’m good, he’s good. We both speak French and we play now in our third season together.
“We know each other so well and it’s a pleasure to play every game with him. We grow together because he’s young as well, so it’s really good to have him by my side.”
Arsenal haven’t won at the Etihad since January 2015 when Arteta was part of an Arsene Wenger side that won 2-0. Since then we’ve lost seven and drawn twice.
While our record is appalling, there are green shoots of improvement. We earned four points against Guardiola’s side last season and beat them on penalties in the Community Shield.
Today isn’t the day to play expansive football or to try and find our new MØ Let fans of other clubs pretend we lost the league there last year. Let the press say Arteta needs to find a way to win at City if we want to win the league. It’s just mental gymnastics by people who don’t want to believe or admit that you can’t compete against a club that has amassed a very suspect financial advantage over the rest of the league that amounts to a 5 point advantage. Fuck them. Keep it tight. Nick it if we… Read more »
be pragmatic, take your chances, defend like a lion
easier said than done, but we are capable of doing it
the media don’t want us to win, simple as that, they simply want to make us out as “bottlers” and “arrogant” or whatever and keep trampling on us
It’s just talking points, column filler bullshit. They recycle the same narratives over and over. Jonathan Wilson’s recent article in The Guardian is a perfect example. He goes on about all the reasons that draw wasn’t the defining point of our season while maintaining only a win there will prove we’re contenders. Arteta might be cautious but he’s also smart enough to know a draw in the hardest fixture of the season is no bad thing. As you say, let the media regurgitate the same story so they can reach whatever write up quota they’re working to. In the meantime,… Read more »
Having shown us the “double save” a number of times already I am excited to see Raya debut the “triple save” 🙃
Has anyone noticed how the media and pundits have been trying to gaslight us going into this game? Can’t blame them because Rodri started the crap. Everywhere I turn I keep hearing that we lost the title last season because we drew at Man City. Can any sensible person even believe that?! A ground no one has defeated them since 2022, and a team we took four points off?! It’s hilarious to say the least. What they don’t say is, the year Liverpool won the league they dropped four points to City. Four points! It’s so hard listening to football… Read more »
I’m good. He’s good. Love it.