Ilkay Gundogan has spoken out about the challenge that Manchester City is facing this year from Arsenal. When the Gunners play Brentford on Saturday afternoon, they will have the opportunity to go eight points ahead of their nearest opponents.
On Sunday, City will play host to Aston Villa after missing the chance to reduce the gap at the top last weekend after watching Mikel Arteta’s team lose to Everton. Due to the much-anticipated first league matchup between the two teams in the middle of the week, both games are crucial.
Despite the current deficit, Arsenal might be second by Thursday, even though they still have a game to play. Such a psychological setback would be devastating. After winning the FA Cup match two weeks prior, City may also have an advantage there.
The guys are focused on getting ready for games this weekend, so they aren’t thinking about any of that.
Gundogan acknowledges he isn’t startled by the threat being posed because he played under Arteta’s careful eye at the Etihad Stadium when the Spaniard was an assistant. In an interview, he exclaimed, “No!” to Sky Germany. They have a coach that I respect and am familiar with from his time with us; Pep has a lot in common with him.
Their strategy is nearly comparable to ours and judging from their first team, it is obvious that on a good day, they are capable of competing against any foe. We recently defeated them in the FA Cup, and that experience made us aware of how unpleasant they are to play against. “Our responsibility is to secure three points against Aston Villa and then go to London and beat Arsenal,” said the players, “because if they have the ball, they can punish other teams.”
It’s not just a two-horse race in the German’s mind. Manchester United might still be in the mix despite being seven points off the top and having played two more games than their competitors. Gundogan continued, “Manchester United is breathing down our necks, and Arsenal is playing at a very high level right now.”
“Every year, the teams get better.” There are instances when you have to take responsibility for your poor performance. But generally speaking, the difficulty increases. And most rivals are certainly extra eager to make things difficult for us because we are a squad that has won four league championships in the last five years.
Although Arteta and Gundogan have both recently displayed a siege mentality, it is common, and the midfielder’s remarks certainly support the idea that City is still preparing for an assault on the top spot as a whole. The winning run has been anticipated for most of the season, and fans are eager for it to start.