GRANIT XHAKA has insisted Arsenal are up for a potential title fight with Manchester City.
The Gunners find themselves topping the Premier League after nine games having won all but one match so far this season.
Few could have expected such a bright start from Mikel Arteta’s men, but it has now left fans dreaming.
With Liverpool seemingly out of the picture, some are now tipping Arsenal as the main challengers to Manchester City’s crown.
And Xhaka has refused to shy away from the challenge and believes the club could be on the brink of something special.
He told the Mail: “It can be a special year. If we keep going like we are working at the moment, we can get something big.
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“We have to believe in ourselves. If not, why are we playing?
“What I hear from people outside, they are saying we are not ready to beat the top six. But we did it twice now [against Tottenham and Liverpool].
“We lost at Manchester United, where we were the better team. We need to give credit and respect to Man City, what they did the last couple of years. You need the perfect day to beat them. But I think we are ready to have this fight against them.”
Arsenal haven’t won the league since their Invincible season in 2004.
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Arteta has embarked on a culture change since arriving at the Emirates and re-energised the club with young players and an intense style of football.
But it will be a difficult mission to overhaul Pep Guardiola’s Man City, who have won four of the last five titles.
They also did not have Erling Haaland for those previous successes, with the Norwegian ripping up goal records by the week in the league.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
