The players "want it so much" - Arteta

Arsenal, without doubt, waved goodbye to a large amount of their title hopes on Friday evening at the Emirates Stadium. After drawing two games beforehand, Arteta's men once again finished with just a point, this time against the league's worst, Southampton.

Saka and Odegaard helped avoid the worst case scenario right at the death by grabbing two goals in the 88th and 90th minutes. The Gunners do, however, still lose two points and City are breathing down their necks now more than ever. Second in the league, Guardiola's side are five points behind Arsenal, but have two games in hand.

The London side's boss spoke about his players' performance after the match: "The players want it so much. For me personally, what I’ve experienced with not only the players but the staff and our supporters, it was incredible and I know how difficult it is. After one minute we made a big mistake to concede and then we made another mistake and it was 2-0".

Despite the poor result, the Spanish manager said he was very proud of his side: "The response of the players, I cannot love them more, honestly. It is a joy to coach them and it is a joy to be a part of this club and to experience what I have experienced with this team. At the end the magic moment was there to be taken, we had two big chances at 3-3 to score but today it didn’t happen unfortunately".

On Wednesday, Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns in what promises to be the match of the season. More than ever, the Gunners will have no room for errors, with only a win being enough.