Arsenal will not play for a draw in Manchester City face-off, insists Arteta

Mikel Arteta will go all out for victory in Sunday’s Premier League title showdown at Manchester City and has not thought for “one second” about setting up for a draw.

Arsenal are six points clear of City, albeit they have played an extra game, and a stalemate could move them decisively towards the trophy they crave. According to Opta’s projections, Arsenal would have an 89% probability of winning the title if it finished all square at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal have struggled for attacking cohesion in recent weeks, starting in the 2-0 Carabao Cup final defeat against City on 22 March, and their season has been defined by defensive excellence. When they advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, where they will face Atlético Madrid, they did so with a 0-0 home draw against Sporting for a 1-0 aggregate quarter-final win. It has raised the prospect of Arteta prioritising a clean sheet at City, but he has a loftier target.

Pep Guardiola repeated his belief on Friday that “if we lose, it’s over”. Arteta intends to test the theory and he was categoric in his response when asked whether he would sign in advance for a point. “No,” he said. “We want to win the game. We are there to win the game. We haven’t talked about that [the draw]. We need to win the game. And we are preparing to win the game. There’s no difference to any stadium we have been to in the last five years.

“I’m not going to spend one second talking about that. We prepare every game to win. That’s why we are where we are and we’re going to continue to do the same. We see it as a big opportunity for us.”

Arsenal were accused of parking the bus when they drew 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium in 2024. Back then, with nine more games to go, it felt like a good point as it kept them one ahead of City, albeit two behind Liverpool. Arsenal went on to win eight of their final nine, losing against Aston Villa, but, as Liverpool fell apart, City won all nine remaining games to take the title.

When it was all over, Rodri criticised Arsenal for their mentality. “The difference was in the head,” said the City midfielder. “When they faced us at the Etihad, I saw these guys do not want to beat us. They just want to draw. We would not do that the same.”