Mikel Arteta said this week’s 7-1 hammering of PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League had given the club a huge lift but urged caution ahead of Sunday’s trip to misfiring Manchester United.
Second-placed Arsenal, 13 points behind leader Liverpool, is realistically out of the Premier League title race after recent stumbles.
But it travels to Old Trafford seeking its fifth straight league win over the rival in Arteta’s 200th Premier League game in charge.
Arsenal, struggling with injuries in forward areas and goalless in its past two league matches, hit form in the first leg of Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday.
“It was a great night for us in an important competition that we have hope in,” the Gunners boss said on Friday.
“The manner, the way we did it obviously lifted everybody. That’s the past unfortunately so it’s about what we do today, the preparation for tomorrow and try to replicate a great performance on Sunday.”
United is 14th in the Premier League, 21 points behind Arsenal, but Arteta said it should not be underestimated.
The Spaniard was asked what he expected from Ruben Amorim’s team, which has produced some surprising results this season including a win against Manchester City, a draw against Liverpool and an FA Cup win against Arsenal on penalties.
“That’s the history of that football club,” he said. “The players that they have and the coach that they have.
“Watching the game last night against Real Sociedad (a 1-1 draw in the Europa League), you become very clear that they are very capable to put a really strong performance and beat you on the day. So we know that, we know the difficulty of the match and that’s how we prepared.”
Arteta, who became Arsenal manager in December 2019, was asked at his pre-match press conference to name his top moments as Gunners boss as he marks 200 league games in charge.
“Probably the number one is with the day that I was sitting here on the first day, just fulfilling that dream of one day becoming the manager of this incredible football club,” he said.
“And then there are many others, but the other night was up there with one of the best because of the way we did it.”
