'Big difference' - Man City will put Arsenal theory to the test

Arsenal have spent the season attempting to show a mental toughness that failed them when it mattered last season.

Mikel Arteta's side topped the Premier League for almost all of the last campaign, only to be reeled in and overtaken by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City machine at the last. It was April when City smashed up the Gunners at the Etihad and May when they finally left their rivals in the dust.

City's quality could not be ignored, but several Arsenal players would go on to admit that the pressure of trying to chase down a first title affected them. The hunger that had spurred them on for most of the year turned into nerves as they tried to see out what they had worked so hard for.

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"I believe sometimes at the end of the season that we were nervous as a team," said Arsenal and former City striker Gabriel Jesus. "City were not nervous because normally they win. That is the big difference."

It is impossible to know whether Arsenal are mentally better now or not. Aaron Ramsdale said after their Community Shield win on penalties in August that the victory was important for them to move on from last year, and Arteta then swiftly moved on from Ramsdale in the sort of brutal upgrade that he watched Pep Guardiola do to Joe Hart at the Etihad.

City can't be sure either, but the best chance of opening up those old wounds is to inflict yet another defeat on Arsenal in Manchester. Guardiola has won all seven of his league games against the North Londoners on home turf and an eighth would see them jump ahead in the table with nine games to go.

Arsenal have not been as dominant this season in