Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is preparing his side to face Nottingham Forest
07:00, 17 Jan 2026
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta(Image: )
Mikel Arteta says "nothing changes" with Manchester City in action ahead of Arsenal's trip to Nottingham Forest - with the manager focused solely on collecting three points from Sean Dyche's side.
Pep Guardiola’s outfit, who face their local adversaries Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, can close the gap to three points before the Gunners are in action in the evening match.
Arteta is, however, adamant that his Arsenal side will be blinkered on the job at hand in Nottingham. “Yeah, we know that we can only focus on what we can do,” Arteta said. “When the games are earlier, you have the possibility to see them.
“Usually, when they are later, the same, nothing changes, but the only focus and the aim is to prepare for a very, very tough match, and we have experienced that over there, and we have to win it.”
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Dyche’s brief tenure at the City Ground has seen a spectrum of results, from winning at Anfield to being knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Wrexham.
That said, Arteta believes he has spotted a response from the Forest players just by the introduction of Dyche as their latest head coach.
“A top coach, really good at what he does”, Arteta explained. “You can see straight away the increase in sprints in the team. The way they play, the results that they got against some of the big teams as well, how difficult they are, constantly. [They’re] so experienced in the league.”
This is the third of four successive away fixtures in 10 days for Arsenal. Coming through the trips to Portsmouth and Chelsea, having scored seven goals, is a reason for encouragement.
However, perhaps uncharacteristically, the Gunners have conceded three times in those affairs too. The Arsenal manager admitted that he’s had to look several games ahead while preparing for this gauntlet.
He added: “Well, in certain things, yes, and especially looking at the opponents and the things that we're going to be able to train, or what we can replicate in those games.
“Sometimes, ideally, we want to plan: ‘Okay, for this game we think this player could be better,’ and the load, and sometimes it's just impossible, and you have to go game by game.
“We have more players back now, we have better options, and that's very helpful because obviously we've been giving game time to almost every player.”
Arteta admitted he was somewhat surprised by how well his side had adapted to having so many options in different positions. Not that he didn’t believe they could, but to the level the side has responded.
Furthermore, Arteta admitted that this depth is a necessity and that other sides who have won top honours have always had such strength.
He added: “It's something that we took from the start of the season,” Arteta detailed. “If we want to have any chance of doing that, we have to be there, and I showed them the other clubs that we have nothing different to that.
“You look at Chelsea: two and three and four [players per position] or Man City or Liverpool or any team that has been in that challenge over the years, so this is the nature.
“We want this, we really have to accept this because there's no other way they haven't done it with 14, 15 or 16 players, none of the clubs in the history in the last 10 to 15 years. It's something that we want to be there, we have to do it, and it has to be natural.”
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