Arsenal will take on Manchester City on Wednesday in their rescheduled Premier League game at the Etihad.
That game will be the first time Mikel Arteta is facing his former employers as a manager. The former Arsenal midfielder had been Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad since he hung up his playing boot in 2016 until late last year.
They enjoyed winning the last two Premier League titles together among other trophies and Arteta became a fans’ favourite for his work behind the scenes.
However, he has since become Arsenal’s manager in his first full-time managerial role and he has revealed that he is excited to be going back to Manchester.
He said as quoted on Arsenal.com: “It’s going to be a very special night, I am very excited to get back there. I have some fantastic memories, a lot of friends, a lot of people that I like. But obviously now I am in a different position, another bench and I will defend my club as well as I can.”
He added that his previous experience with the Citizens will help offer him an idea of what their opponents would do.
He, however, added that knowing that alone won’t help and they would have to exploit that to their advantage to get something from the game.
He added: “It gives me a very clear idea of what they are trying to do, what they will be looking to do, but it’s something different to be able to stop that and as well create the issues that I think we can create for them. That has to happen on the day, when they are at their best, we know what they are capable of doing, the variation they have. At the end of the day, it’s about the players on the pitch and their performance.”
Beating City would offer Arsenal a major boost in their bid to finish inside the Premier League’s top four.
Alright, beating Man. City will be a moral booster for the team and the manager. The match against Man. City will be a tough challenge for the team but with cohesion we can achieve it.