Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta: Man City are best in team in history of Premier League

Mikel Arteta insists he is proud that Arsenal have been able to go “toe-to-toe” with Manchester City this season and described his former club as “best in team in the history of Premier League”.

Arsenal have topped of the table for large parts of the current campaign but have seen their lead evaporate in recent weeks as City embarked on a relentless 12-game winning streak and now need just one more victory to retain the Premier League title.

The Gunners' 3-0 home defeat by Brighton last weekend all but ended their own title dreams and they now sit four points behind Pep Guardiola's treble-chasing side, having played a game more.

The North London club head into Saturday's match at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest knowing that victory can at least delay celebrations in Manchester for 24 hours, when City take on Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

“We have shown this season,” Arteta said when asked if Arsenal can be title contenders again next season.

“We're still there, with two games to go we can still be champions against probably the best team in Premier League history.

“For 10 months we're still there. There's two games still to go and we're not going to bottle that for sure.

“It shows the level of this league. That team [City] has the capacity to win 105 to 110 points. They haven't done that this season because of the level of the league and we've been there toe-to-toe for 10 months.”

“What happens next season will depend on what we do, how we evolve and how we start. That prediction is very difficult to do today.

“We can't lose sight of what happened in moments where we weren't at our best or at the level required to be champions and we have to acknowledge that.

“But obviously the team, the players, the