Arsenal defender Cedric Soares has outlined how Mikel Arteta is giving the Gunners the edge in the Premier League title race against Manchester City. The Gunners currently lead the way at the top of the table by seven points with City set to face Leeds on Wednesday.
Arsenal resumed Premier League action with a 3-1 win over London rivals West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day. Mikel Arteta's side suffered a setback in the first half before finding their rhythm in the second half as goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah secured all three points.
Nketiah proved he was a capable replacement for the injured Gabriel Jesus with the Brazilian set to be out of action until February following a knee injury suffered during the World Cup. Arteta is keen on adding more signings to his squad in January after completing deals for Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos and Matt Turner in the summer.
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Cedric has opened up on how Arteta is helping give the Gunners the edge over City as the title race continues into the second half of the season. The Portuguese defender said: "Mikel is working every aspect of our game; he pays attention to every detail.
"He is very focused on strategy. Of course it always depends on the opponent, but it’s already very automatic, it’s natural, because he created these habits.
"I think if you get to a motivation level where you start to win two, three, four, five games, you get this winning feeling. This winning mentality that no matter what, you are going to end up winning the game."
Whilst Jesus and Zinchenko have seamlessly adapted to life at the Emirates Stadium since arriving from City in the summer transfer window, Vieira has taken a little more time to break into the first team. His Portuguese compatriot sees a lot of potential in the £34million signing and has looked to help Vieira settle into his new surroundings.
"Sometimes, you will see a fantastic Fabio and then, at some other moments, you will see that he wasn’t ready for a specific move," Cedric said. "It’s an adaptation for him. Everything is different, it’s a different league. He has a lot of potential, a lot of quality and I try to help him through my experience as well."
Vieira himself has praised Cedric for the role he has played in helping him adapt at Arsenal, claiming he now feels 'at home' in north London. The Portuguese playmaker said: "When you come from another country, another culture, everything is different.
"For me, finding Cédric here was really good, I felt at home. A fellow Portuguese, I think we are very similar and he helps me a lot. He has a lot of quality; he knows what he must do on the pitch. He won the Euro with Portugal, he’s very experienced."
Cedric has found first team opportunities hard to come by this season since Ben White moved into a wider role in defence, along with Takehiro Tomiyasu impressing when called upon. Vieira added: "When he [Cedric] plays and when he doesn’t play, he’s the same person.
"He always works hard; it doesn’t matter if he’s a part of the game. He is part of this family, he’s part of this team. The most important thing is that we’re in this together."
Arteta has implemented a new culture at the Emirates Stadium which has been highlighted by the fans closer bond and affection with the players. The Gunners are continuing to go from strength to strength as they look to keep City at arms length in a potential title-winning campaign.
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