Arsene Wenger makes Arsenal prediction ahead of Man City showdown

Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal have learned from last season’s collapse during the run-in (Picture: X)

Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal have learned their lessons from last season’s collapse and are ready to end their 20-year wait for the Premier League title.

For the second year in a row, Mikel Arteta’s emerging side lead the table heading into the run-in on goal difference from Liverpool, with champions Manchester City a point adrift.

Amid a mounting injury crisis 12 months ago, Arsenal faded away during the run-in, drawing three successive matches before they suffered a chastening 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Arteta’s men return to the scene of that crime on Sunday, with Wenger agreeing his old side appear as though they are far more resilient group likely to be able to withstand the pressure of competing with the City juggernaut.

‘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.

‘Maybe this year because they have two competitions to go for they might be a bit more relaxed.’

Regardless of the side an injury-hit City pick tomorrow, meanwhile, Arteta is similarly adamant his troops are now far better equipped to deal with the magnitude of a fixture that could well 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.

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‘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.’

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