Mikel Arteta has dismissed the notion of Arsenal settling for a draw in Sunday's Premier League title clash at Manchester City, insisting his side will play to win. The Gunners lead City by six points, though they have played one game more, and a stalemate would give them an 89% probability of winning the title according to Opta projections.
Arteta was unequivocal when asked if he would take a point before the match. 'No. We want to win the game. We are there to win the game. We haven’t talked about that [the draw],' he said. 'We prepare every game to win. That’s why we are where we are.'
The Arsenal manager rejected comparisons to their 0-0 draw at the Etihad in 2024, which was criticised by City midfielder Rodri for a defensive mentality. Arteta noted that opponents sometimes force teams to defend deep, but insisted: 'We’re not going to propose a game like this because we never do that.'
Arsenal have scored only three goals in their last five matches, with Declan Rice calling for improved composure. Arteta attributed the struggles to missing key players and stressed the importance of having a full squad available for the run-in. He confirmed Bukayo Saka remains out with an achilles problem but suggested Noni Madueke could return after limping off against Sporting.
