A WIN TODAY FOR ARTETA WOULD BE HUGE... NOT JUST FOR THE CLUB, BUT FOR MIKEL THE MAN

VICTORY IS AN ART Mikel needs to inspire his side to defeat City GIVEN that he has been in charge of Arsenal for just over six years, it is easy to forget that, when it comes to elite management, Mikel Arteta is, essentially, something of a rookie.

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Before taking high-end jobs in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, for example, had been managers of hugely-scrutinised clubs for eight and seven years, respectively.

Experience is invaluable at the rarefied levels of the game, as Carlo Ancelotti has highlighted in the past four years at Real Madrid.

If, at the age of 42 - four years younger than Liverpool boss Arne Slot - Arteta is not still on a learning curve, something is wrong.

And even though it was December 2019 when Arteta assumed the role, there is still a feeling that he is growing into the job.

Watch him in the technical area for the imminent meeting with Manchester City and you probably won't guess it, but he might even be calming down.

Arteta has been booked twice in the Premier League this season, which puts him strictly mid-table in the yellow card rankings for managers.