Mikel Arteta affirmed that he does not care about what happens to Man City, but only focuses on improving with Arsenal and continuing to win.

In round 14 of the Premier League last weekend, while Arsenal defeated Wolves 2-1, Man City was held to a 3-3 draw by Tottenham. Thanks to that, the “Gunners” firmly established themselves at the top of the table with 33 points, widening the gap with Man City to three points. If they defeat Luton Town in the early match of round 15, Arsenal will create a six-point gap and put pressure on Man City in their away trip to Aston Villa on December 6.

During the press conference before the match against Luton Town, when asked about this scenario, Arteta replied: “I don’t think about that. I think about how we will play better, more stable and harder to beat than before.” Luton Town. Things to adjust and the best way to arrange personnel to win. We still have a marathon ahead.”

Arteta talks with Arsenal players at London Colney training ground on December 4. Photo: arsenal.com

While Arsenal won all, Man City was held in all three recent matches in the Premier League, drawing 4-4 with Chelsea, 1-1 with Liverpool and 3-3 with Tottenham. But Arteta does not consider Man City’s continuous drop in points as encouragement, but witnessing his students’ desire and approach to each training session and match is what motivates them to work every day. “What other clubs do is something we cannot control,” the Arsenal coach said.

Since the last time the two teams met in 1991, Luton Town fell to the English fifth division for five seasons before returning to the Premier League thanks to victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final in May 2023.

Arteta sees Luton Town’s journey to the rise as bringing hope to all clubs in the English football pyramid in terms of their ability to reach the highest tournament – the Premier League. The Spanish coach also believes that Luton Town deserves to be in a higher position, compared to 17th place with nine points at present. “The scoreboard does not reflect what they did in many matches, like whether they lost or drew in the last five minutes of the match. The next match will definitely be very difficult,” he expressed.

Arteta and Rob Edwards – the current coach of Luton Town – have had a long-standing close relationship when participating in training classes organized by the Welsh Football Federation to obtain a UEFA Pro license. Arteta revealed that he still keeps in touch with Edwards and praised his colleague as a great coach.

Regarding the personnel situation, Arteta said that Takehiro Tomiyasu – the defender who left the field at the end of the win against Wolves – left the possibility of playing, but Ben White is in the best condition and ready to start. Meanwhile, Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Jurrien Timber are still on long-term leave.