LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal are “highly motivated” to compete with Manchester City in the Premier League title race, manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday after his side slipped to second in the standings following their midweek 3-1 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s team.
Arsenal lost the top spot, which they had held since August, to their opponents on goal difference with both teams tied on 51 points.
Arteta’s side, though, have a game in hand and travel on Saturday to face Aston Villa, who are managed by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery.
“I know the right things we have to do to continue to be there (at the top),” Arteta told reporters. “We have seen where the level is and what we have to do to be at that level.
“There are a lot of positive things to take from the season so far… We know that the level of efficiency has to be good with every single game to beat them (City) at the end. We are highly motivated to do that.”
Arteta urged his side to be more efficient after they picked up only one point in their last three league games.
“… With the amount of play and situations we generated we haven’t had enough points. That is down to us, we have to improve on that because we want to win more games.
“So we are highly motivated for tomorrow’s game because we want to perform well and win the game,” he added.
Thomas Partey will undergo an assessment for Saturday’s match due to a muscle problem, while Emile Smith Rowe (thigh) could be in the squad but Gabriel Jesus (knee) is yet to recover.
“He (Partey) had some discomfort in a little muscle. We have to assess him this morning to see how he is,” Arteta said.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
