Arsenal to embrace ‘privilege’ not pressure of Man City Premier League tilt

Arsenal travel to Manchester City knowing their Premier League could be eradicated by next Wednesday.Mikel Arteta has urged spluttering Arsenal to embrace the “huge privilege” of facing Manchester City in a potentially decisive showdown in the Premier League title race.Arteta’s side are six points clear of second-placed City ahead of their blockbuster clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran women football players thank Australian government for protectionlist 2 of 4Men caught competing as women in prestigious South African marathonlist 3 of 4World Cup fans outraged by US transit prices for 2026 FIFA eventslist 4 of 4World Athletics blocks 11 athlete transfer requests to Turkiyeend of listBut City have a game in hand on the Gunners and a victory for Pep Guardiola’s men would tilt the balance of power in their favour heading into the final weeks of the season.Adding to the drama of the do-or-die battle, Arsenal are enduring an untimely loss of form after losing three of their last five games in all competitions.They were beaten by City in the League Cup final, suffered a shock FA Cup quarterfinal exit at second-tier Southampton and slumped to a home league defeat against Bournemouth.The Gunners were well below their best once again on Wednesday when they edged past Sporting Lisbon, drawing 0-0 to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory in the Champions League quarterfinals.But, despite criticism of Arsenal’s perceived mental weakness under pressure, Arteta is convinced his players have the right character to take a huge step towards winning the Premier League.“We have earned the right to be in this position and to be challenging, with an opportunity to win against arguably the best team and best manager this league has ever seen,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.“That is a huge privilege. We see this as a big opportunity for us. Who is more privileged to be in this position?“I don’t know how Pep and Man City are feeling, but I feel very privileged to have earned the right to be in this position to play such a big and great game.”