Arsene Wenger is sure Arsenal that they have learned from last season’s collapse and are prepared to end their 20-year wait for the Premier League title.
For the second year in a row, Mikel Arteta’s emerging side are leading the table just before the end part of the season, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, while champions Manchester City are one point behind.
A year ago, Arsenal faced a growing injury crisis and faded away towards the end of the season, drawing three successive matches and then suffering a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Arteta’s team goes back to the place where that happened on Sunday, and Wenger agrees that his old team seems much more resilient and likely to handle the pressure of competing with City.
‘I think so, yes,’ Wenger told one his former players, Freddie Ljungberg, when asked if Arsenal have what it takes to go all the way.
‘The next game will be a little decider because we go to Man City. Why not? City is always a difficult team to play but maybe not as dominant as they were last year at the moment but that can always come. They know how to do it, they have the knowledge, they have been there.
‘Arsenal has the capacity but they have to show they can do it now. I hope and I’m convinced they have learned from last year. Last year the tension got to them and they dropped in the final sprint.
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‘Maybe this year because they have two competitions to go for they might be a bit more relaxed.’
Despite which players City pick tomorrow, Arteta is also confident that his team is now much better prepared to handle the importance of a match that could define the title race.
‘[Last season] there were many factors that didn’t help us,’ he said. ’We got the injuries in the Sporting game, and there was a lot happening and that momentum shifted to a more negative momentum.
‘We were struggling to keep up [with City] because they kept winning, they won 14 or 15 games in a row and they managed to do it.
‘[It showed] the level that we are facing and where we want to be. Certainly, that’s where we want to be and you have to make strong steps to get there.
‘I think we have made some big ones in the last two or three years and we’re getting much closer and now it is about how you close that gap and actually try to be better than them.’
