Arsenal will travel to the North-west to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a Premier League top-of-the-table battle. Although winning that game gives the Gunners a better chance of winning the league, William Saliba has warned the Gooners not to get ahead of themselves; winning the league will require more than just beating City.
Arsenal and the reigning champions drew 0-0 in their away game against City during the PL run-in last season. Arsenal’s critics (after that stalemate with City) claimed that they lost the title fight, because they played for a draw instead of a win, which would have given them three points and won them the league by one point.
Well, on Sunday, the Gunners have a chance to defy the sceptics and defeat City at the Etihad Stadium, something they haven’t done in nine years.
Even with the absences of Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should have a stronger squad for this weekend’s heavyweight match. Hopefully the Citizens will be without Kevin De Bruyne due to injury.
Arsenal’s defensive standout Saliba has stated how determined they are to win on Sunday, but even if they do, beating City will not suffice to crown them league champions. Saliba suggests defeating City on Sunday is certainly in the plan, but he calls for the team to push to be consistent after that.
“If you win against them but not against others, it doesn’t mean anything,” he told FOX Sports.
“So, of course we want to win this weekend, and we will give everything to win, but it’s not the end on Sunday.”
In the 2023-24 title race, the Gunners went undefeated against the big six but lost games against Fulham, West Ham, and Aston Villa that they should have won. So although it is crucial for them to beat the big teams, but they must also beat the other teams as well.
That said, want to win the league, they must set the stage this Sunday with a win over the Citizens, after which they’ll have to go ahead and exemplify consistency.
