Mikel Arteta spoke about the significance of the showdown with Southampton in the FA Cup.
Having won Manager of the Month in March, Arsenal are now nine points clear at the top of the table and remain the firm favourites for the biggest domestic trophy in English football. The boss believes that his men must respect their opposition at a ground that has caused the club problems in previous Premier League seasons.
“We won a lot of games in an important and crucial part of the season: a good team effort. I think [winning Manager of the Month] reflects what the team is doing, on the level of performances and the amount of games that we are winning, as I said, I think it’s just a reflection of that.
“Huge competition, so related to the history of our football club. We’re going to play a team that is in a really good moment, they have won so many games recently, they’re in a really good moment.
“You know the expectations, the crowd, the environment that they are going to create, so we are ready for that, and we want to be at Wembley again, so tomorrow we have the opportunity to do that again.
“The magic of the FA Cup is that every scenario, every context, every game, has a history. This one is a special one and we are ready to face that tomorrow.
“With a new manager, with the players and the amount of changes that they have in the squad it is very different. And at the end you have to talk about the moment, what they are doing in this moment and what we are doing, and we as well are obviously a very different team.
‘I could sense it’
Arteta also reflected on the fallout from the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
The Gunners messed up their first chance to claim a major honour this year, but they have a chance to book a return to Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup semifinal. The distance of a two week break from that the final feels unusual at this stage of the schedule, but the frustration is still fuel for the group.
“When you didn't manage to win that final, I think what you have to take on board is how this is going to make us stronger for the final push of the season. That has been the mindset, that has been all the work that we have done in the last few days to use that as fuel, as tools to be able to get the final push that we want and achieve what we want.
“I could sense [the motivation to bounce back] and the way we look at ourselves and the things that we could have done better and how the game can shift at that level from the first and second half.
“That's something that we need to manage better and again this is going to make us better I'm sure and we have to use it for the most important and beautiful part of the season.
“Ideally, you play the next day and when you have an international break sometimes it's not exactly what you want but use it in the right way. We've had a lot of work done, analysed what we've been doing not only in that one but in the last 120 days.
“The amount of games that we play, our winning ratio, the things that we have accomplished, give some perspective and at the same time be very critical of what we can do better to help the players more and to be able to win any game in any context.”