Arsenal take on Manchester City tomorrow at the Etihad Stadium for what will be a monumental clash with a lot of bearing on the Premier League table. The Gunners are currently two points behind their fellow Premier League title challengers and will be looking to avoid a defeat to ensure that they keep track with the leading pack.
Mikel Arteta returned to the UK after the grueling encounter with Atalanta and took some time out to provide responses to the journos that gathered around ahead of the Manchester City clash. Here are my thoughts on some of the words Arteta shared with the media ahead of the all-important clash.
Mood of the squad upon returning to England
As expected, the gaffer made it clear that the players are in a very good mood following the narrow victory over Tottenham and the hard-earned draw against Atalanta. The team is expected to be in good spirits and hopefully, will carry this momentum to the clash against Manchester City,
Keeping two clean sheets in two tough away clashes
My key takeaway from Arteta’s response here was consistency. Arsenal has become a very dogged side, especially in away fixtures, and in as much as there were doubts on the team’s defensive potential going into these games, Arsenal proved themselves again, and came away with two clean sheets away to Tottenham and Atalanta.
Update on Martin Odegaard’s injury
Arteta had an update regarding Odegaard’s unfortunate ankle injury,
“We need to see the development in the next week or so, how the ankle reacts first of all and then the staff will give me an update on the timeframe and how long he’ll be out for.”
It has been reported that Odegaard is set to be out for eight to ten weeks, and Arsenal will have to cope without their captain for quite a lengthy spell.
Potential absence of Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne suffered a groin injury in Manchester City’s draw with Internazionale and is a potential doubt for tomorrow’s clash. Arteta shrugged off his absence by citing that Manchester City has other world class players that can deputize the Belgian maestro accordingly.
It’s going to be an enthralling match tomorrow and I can only hope that Arsenal comes away with a positive result.
