Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he ‘cannot wait’ for Wednesday’s huge Premier League title clash away to Manchester City.
The Gunners came from 3-1 down at home to Southampton on Friday night to claim a 3-3 draw but have now picked up just three points from their last three games.
Arteta’s side lead City by five points at the top of the table, having played two more matches than the current champions, and that means they will need to win Wednesday’s clash at the Etihad in order to depend on themselves again in the title race.
“I cannot wait, these are the games you want to play,” Arteta told BBC Sport. “When everything is at stake you have to go there to win. The game will be prepared for that, that is for sure.
“It is the beauty of this sport, you want to be in these positions. We will have an incredible trip to Manchester and we will prepare really well.”
Arteta also rejected claims that Arsenal were lacking confidence and said his players stood up to be counted after making mistakes against Southampton.
“I don’t see a lack of confidence,” he said. “When a team does that normally players start to hide. I played there and players start to hide in certain moments. I didn’t see a single player do that. They were all willing to take risks and initiative. That’s why we got back from 3-1 to 3-3 and should have won the game.
“The confidence is there. It’s just those moments. At this level you cannot give the goals away that we did. Simple as that.”