Arsenal became favourites to win the Premier League for the first time last week and Mikel Arteta knows he must lean on lessons learned from Sir Alex Ferguson if he is to lead his side to glory.
The Gunners welcome Manchester United to the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, knowing a win will maintain a gap to second place of at least five points. Victory will be no easy task, however, with Erik Ten Hag's side unbeaten since the start of November - they had won nine in a row before Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
And the Reds came away the victor in the reverse at Old Trafford, picking off a Gunners side who were exhilarating but somewhat naive. Since then, Arteta's side have developed a steeliness reminiscent of those title-winning United sides of the past, and the Spaniard knows me must heed advice from one of the best in the business.
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“I have had a few conversations with Sir Alex, not formally, just with people around him and it was more listening than talking obviously,” Arteta said. “What really captured me was his presence, his charisma, the way he talked and how honest and brutal he was about certain opinions that he had about the game and players.”
And on his own side, he added: “We haven’t been streetwise enough in the last many years to be in the title race. It’s something we have to show we can do. But words mean nothing, we have to do it on the pitch.
“Having that balance of physical and mental strength and having those qualities in the squad is necessary. To have the mentality and capacity to control emotions that are required to play on big stages is very necessary.
“The physical aspect is necessary — without that you cannot compete over 11 months in the conditions in which we work. We have tried to build a team that has everything.”
United can pull themselves into serious talk of a title race with victory at the Emirates, three points pulling them to within five points of the leaders. They will have to do so without Casemiro, however, after the Brazilian earned his fifth yellow card and subsequent suspension at Selhurst Park.
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