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| Wenger says Arsenal have a better team ethic than Manchester City |
ARSENE WENGER believes Arsenal’s team ethic can outshine Manchester City’s individual talents in what he believes is a more important than usual clash between two of the top teams in the Premier League.
The Arsenal manager played down talk of the game on Monday being a title decider but admitted that with no team taking the title race by the scruff of the neck, the games between rivals will be more important in the final reckoning than is usually the case.
“We are in December, we are not fighting for the Premier League on Monday night,” Wenger said. “Although maybe more than ever, the title will come down to results between the top teams because it looks to be very tight.
“We have played 16 games and the top team is on 35 points. So it means that the Premier League could be decided at around 80 points.
“And if you look at the results it looks as though the consistency will be the main priority in this league because every week you are surprised by the results. We have really established a good run so for us it’s important to continue that.
“I don’t know if they are the No 1 threat but City are a threat. If you look at what they have achieved in the last three or four years, their individual quality, you cannot dismiss them as not being a threat to winning the championship.
“Manchester City has huge individual potential with David Silva coming back, Sergio Aguero coming back and so we will need a top, top level team performance.”
Wenger claims that his players will still benefit from the confidence of their 2-0 win over City way back in January and hopes for a further boost going into the festive period.
“When you have never done it, people can tell you ‘you are good enough, you are good enough’ but when you have done it, you know you can do it and that strengthens you,” he said. “Of course it was important.
“It was a needed step for our team. It was not enough last season, but it was the first step which was certainly vital to strengthen the belief of our team.
“It will further boost our chances this time to go to the top. It is a massive game and when you play at home you want to win because we ambitious and we feel over Christmas we play many home games and our strength and we have the chance to come out in a strong position after Christmas.
“It will be a very tight game because if you look at the numbers since the start of the season, offensively and defensively the numbers are very close.
“The number of goals scored and goals conceded, the number of passes made, percentage of possession, is all very close.
“What you look at is of course to nullify the individual quality they have offensively. It will be vital for us to find a good balance between defending well as a team and expressing our way to go forward. But you cannot ignore the individual quality they have up front.”
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