Per Mertesacker has called on Arsenal to quickly turn their focus towards beating Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners slipped to a 2-0 defeat in their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona on Tuesday, leaving them with a mountain to climb going into the second leg at the Nou Camp.
Arsene Wenger’s side face another tough test at Old Trafford, but Mertesacker says they can take positives from their performance against Barcelona.
"We have a great chance on Sunday to do that again and show that we can compete for the title"
Per Mertesacker
“We created some chances and [it’s pleasing] how we got out of the pressure,” he said. “We were doubted a lot but there is always something positive and we can take that from the game.
“We will go to Manchester United and we are in a good position - we don’t want to give that up. We have a great chance to focus back on the Premier League and forget what happened in the last 20 minutes [against Barcelona].
“Leicester City was a good game to make us believe we are still in it. You need to have little successes on the road. We go step by step, nothing else. We have a great chance on Sunday to do that again and show that we can compete for the title.
“It helps we beat United last year in the cup. I think that was a great experience for us and it is still in our heads sometime when you think about big games and Old Trafford. It is going to be an interesting game so let’s not forget the positives from Barcelona and go there and give our best with the same effort.”
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