Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are taking no encouragement from Manchester City stumbling in the title race.
City have drawn their last three Premier League games and it has allowed Arsenal to go top of the table.
The Gunners are two points clear of Liverpool in second and can extend their lead to five with a win at Luton on Tuesday.
City came from behind to beat Arsenal to the title last year, overhauling an eight-point gap at the start of April, and Arteta insists he is taking no motivation from their recent struggles.
“Encouragement? No,” he said. “Encouragement comes from watching my team play and watching how they behave every single day, how hungry and willing they are to play every single game, the way they approach every single training session.
“That’s what gives me encouragement. What the others do is something we cannot control.
“I don’t think about [opening up a five-point gap], I think about how we’re going to play better tomorrow and be more consistent and more difficult to beat.
“The things that have to tweak and how we can use our players in the best possible way to win. It’s still a huge marathon ahead of us.”
Arsenal have not played Luton since 1991 and their squad will experience the unique nature of Kenilworth Road for the first time.
“We have already warned them, they know what to expect,” said Arteta. “They know about the atmosphere and they know about the access.
“They know everything, and especially they have to know about the team that they have to face tomorrow and the difficulties we are going to have to play against them, and as well what the opportunities are for us to win the game.
“I would say it is an inspiring place. I think what they've done is remarkable with what Rob did with the team last year, the way they did it and what they transmitted as a team.
“We are neighbours and we’re always very close to here so it's just an amazing story. They fully deserve all the credit they are getting, from last year as well as the way they are playing this season.
“Some of the results that they have got and in the games that they've played, they’ve been extremely close so tomorrow we're going to have a really intense and difficult match.”
