Manchester City‘s Raheem Sterling has praised the influence that Mikel Arteta has had on his Arsenal side ahead of their clash.
The England international is expected to boost his side for the clash against the North London side after missing the recent internationals with injury, and has been talking about the task in hand.
Sterling claims that Arteta was a big influence at Man City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, and that he was expecting him to bring that attitude to his new side.
“He’s a person that had a lot of say here,” Sterling said (via Goal). “The manager trusted him here and he had a lot of influence on the players here and the team as well.
“So I knew once he went into Arsenal that it would be a great opportunity for him but also he would definitely implement what he wanted to bring in.
“And he’s a person that will put his foot down and not let things slide as you can see with the boys at Arsenal. They know if they don’t run they are most likely not going to play.”
The winger moves onto praise the changes that can be seen in Arsenal since Arteta’s arrival as coach.
The 25 year-old added: “You can see the change that he’s brought in there, you can see the energy, you can see how much he’s put into them with their off-ball work.
“We all knew before Mikel got in how much good football they could play, how technically good they were but probably off the field they weren’t as aggressive as they are with Mikel.
“They run their socks off now, you can see why they benefited with some good results recently.”
Our team will not be underestimated today, especially after our extremely impressive win over City in the FA Cup semi-final last season, and there is no doubting the impact that Arteta has had on our side.
Winning at the Etihad will be a whole new challenge however, but I’m sure I’m not alone in rating our chances of coming away with a result today.
Is Sterling worried about his side’s chances?
Patrick
