As we head into our third huge away game in a week against Manchester City on Sunday, Mikel Arteta feels some meticulous planning will ensure our players are ready to round off this massive run of fixtures with another good result.
Having beaten Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday and kicking off our Champions League campaign with a draw at Atalanta, we head to the home of the reigning Premier League holders, kicking off less than 72 hours after the final whistle blew in Italy.
While the footballing calendar hasn’t been kind, Mikel admitted that he saw the potential for this situation to arise a long time ago, and has been juggling the demands of his players and staff to try and maximise our points haul during this run. He feels everyone is full of belief and relishing the challenge handed to us.
“We’ve been preparing for this since pre-season,” he said in his pre-City press conference. “We knew the schedule and that it’s extremely rare to play in these conditions with three massive away games in six days, but it was what it is so we have prepared for that, physically, mentally and tactically.
“We’re making sure that everyone is ready for it, because we’re going to need them, especially with the injuries that we had from the international break.”
While Pep Guardiola’s men were also in European action in midweek against Inter Milan, they were at home and also benefitted by playing on Wednesday to have 24 hours extra recovery and preparation time for our visit.
But Mikel is making no excuses as he feels we are the victims of our own success as we battle for trophies at home and abroad. Instead, he has been working hard at the Sobha Realty Training Centre to find a way to get a first league victory at the Etihad Stadium since 2015, and leapfrog our opponents at the top of the table in the process.
On whether City have an advantage, he added: “We wanted the same as them, we’re not getting it, so we have to adapt and make the most of the time that we have today and tomorrow and on the morning of the match to prepare in the best way to go there and win the game.
“I enjoy a lot of time in the office and on the training ground. We want to be in the position we’re in - we dreamed of this years ago and we’re in this position right now. Let’s make the most out of it and enjoy it.”
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