Machester City legend Sergio Aguero is confident Pep Guardiola’s side will take a major step towards claiming the Premier League title and land a telling blow on Arsenal this afternoon.
The top two lock horns at the Etihad Stadium later today with City knowing that three points would, at last, mean their destiny is in their own hands.
Victory would move the treble-chasers to within three points of the long-time leaders with a game in-hand against Burnely still to come.
Mikel Arteta’s men progressed to the Champions League semi-finals in midweek but another disjointed performance and a 0-0 draw provided more evidence to suggest they are running out of steam with the finish line now in sight.
A run of just one win in five games in all competitions was sparked by their lost in the Carabao Cup final last month and Aguero believes City, buoyed by that success, will have too much for energy-sapped Arsenal.
He said: ‘It’s a strange game. Both coaches know each other perfectly, they know where to attack and where the opponent is weakest.
‘Sometimes these games have very few goals, sometimes they open up and become a great spectacle for the fans.
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‘I think City will come out strong in the first 10-15 minutes, accelerate and take control of the ball. It could finish 2-0 or 2-1 to City.
‘Hopefully City don’t suffer too much, but if it’s only a one-goal lead I think in the last minutes City will have to suffer a bit.
‘I think City will win the title. Knowing the club and Pep, I don’t think City will drop any points. In the head of City they know that at some point Arsenal can lose or draw, and that’s enough – as long as City win everything.’
Arteta, meanwhile, has told his players to ‘go for it’ and embrace the Etihad Stadium pressure cooker.
Arsenal are carrying the scars of finishing runners-up for the past three seasons, and without a championship in 22 years, while Pep Guardiola has overseen five titles during his City tenure. Arteta’s sole trophy remains the 2020 FA Cup.
But speaking on the eve of Sunday’s crunch match, Arteta, when asked what his final message to his players will be, replied: ‘Go for it.
‘Let’s be ourselves and go for it, put everything we have on that pitch. Have huge belief, have huge conviction and go for it because we are more than capable of doing it.
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Asked if his out-of-form players must embrace the pressure, Arteta said: ‘One hundred per cent.
‘We are exactly where we want to be and there have been a lot of positive things and I don’t see anything that has to hold you back.
‘We are playing against an opponent that requires the best out of you. It doesn’t get much better than that.’