Mikel Arteta on Manchester United, Saturday’s title race at Old Trafford
By Faith Awa Maji
The Arsenal Boss, Mikel Arteta faced the press ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford as they will be looking to end the penultimate weekend of the season top of the table.
They will be responding to Manchester City’s early kick-off on Saturday.
Manchester United have proven a tough opponent for the Gunners over the last couple of decades with Mikel Arteta’s team producing the only league win over the Red Devils since 2006.
Last season saw a controversial clash rule out what was deemed in hindsight to be a perfectly good Gabriel Martinelli goal and Antony score on his debut.
Both sides however are in very different places now with Erik ten Hag under considerable pressure with suggestions that the morale in the United camp has dropped to new lows following a run of one win in the last seven league games.
Arsenal’s team is looking healthy with updates on whether Jurrien Timber could make the squad.
Arteta is also expected to provide further updates on the side with some questions over Takehiro Tomiyasu’s midweek absence from training.
Arteta on facing City
You have to keep improving and try to be better than them when you face them head to head. It’s what we know. Maybe this season it’s not been as high as we expected.
Arteta on memories from the win at Old Trafford in 2020
It moves so fast and so many things happen daily that you don’t tend to remember what happened three years ago. It’s been an unbelievable journey and we’ve come far. There’s still a lot to come.
The Gunners are currently one point clear at the top of the table but remain second favourites in the title race due to the fact that Manchester City have a game in hand. Should Pep Guardiola’s side slip up in any of their remaining matches against Fulham, Tottenham or West Ham though, Arsenal could be handed the perfect chance to win a first league title for 20 years.
Accordingly, they have begun preparations for celebrations in the event they do beat City to the Premier League crown. It’s worth pointing out that this is a requirement due to the fact that road closure notices and many operational requirements need to be sorted well in advance. With the title race looking likely to go to the final day, 24 hours will not be enough notice to get these sorted. @football.london
