Arsenal moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League after last night’s win over Luton Town (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta insists he will focus on one game at a time after being informed that Pep Guardiola declared he was certain Manchester City would win the Premier League title again.
Arsenal moved five points clear, albeit having played a game more, at the top of the table following a chaotic 4-3 win over Luton on Tuesday night that culminated in Declan Rice’s 97th minute winning goal.
City have the opportunity to respond this evening, but face an acid test of their credentials where they will travel to an in-form Aston Villa side without suspended duo Rodri and Jack Grealish.
Liverpool, meanwhile, remain fully in the mix following their own seven-goal thriller against Fulham last weekend but Guardiola remains ultra-confident City will again see off the competition once the finish line zooms into view.
Speaking at his press conference ahead of the trip to Villa Park, he said: ‘I never use these situations – the motivation is just to try to do better, that is it,’ said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference.
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‘I have learned that if you want to win something, you have to do it much better than your opponents. When you are level, that is not always going to happen (winning) so you have to do it much, much better – and this is what they have to do.
‘My feeling today is we are going to win the Premier League – if we play at the levels we did against Liverpool and Tottenham, we are going to win it again.
‘People don’t believe it after three draws but we are going to do it again. We know that it is not easy [winning four Premier League titles in a row], no team has done it yet, and that is why the difficulty is there.
‘But if you ask what I’m feeling, I want to do it again.’
Asked for his response to Guardiola’s emphatic prediction, Arteta instead opted to bask in the glory of last night’s win and refused to become embroiled in a back and forth with his former mentor.
He said: ‘I am really happy that we won tonight’s game and I am extremely proud of my players.’
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