Bukayo Saka has warned Manchester City that Arsenal have ‘learned their lessons’ from last season, when they crumbled during the final few weeks of the Premier League title race. The Gunners displayed nerves of steel on Sunday as they survived a second-half fightback against local rivals Tottenham to win the north London derby 3-2.
The margins are fine at the top, with this campaign’s title race now narrowed down to City and Arsenal after Liverpool’s draw at West Ham on Saturday. The Gunners did exactly what they needed to do with a nervy win over Spurs to temporarily go four points clear.
Arsenal hit a torrid run of form at the worst possible time in 2022/23, which allowed City to steam in, close the gap and clinch a third consecutive Premier League crown under Pep Guardiola.
However, Saka has warned the Sky Blues not to expect a similar capitulation this term. “City are an amazing team but they’re not perfect, nobody is,” the England international told Sky Sports.
“There’s not much room for error. We’ve got experience now, we’ve learned our lessons from last year. Last season, today could’ve ended in a draw but we have the experience now. We’ll get on the bus, put the game on and hope for the best.”
A Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal set Arsenal on their way as they raced into a three-goal lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Saka himself then got in on the action, finding the bottom corner after a superb through ball from Kai Havertz.
The provider soon became the scorer as Havertz, who put on a fantastic individual display, nodded in from a corner kick. A half-time team talk from Ange Postecoglou saw Spurs rally after the break, though, as Cristian Romero punished David Raya’s clumsy mistake.
Son Heung-min netted an emphatic penalty late on to put Arsenal backs against the wall, but Mikel Arteta’s men showed grit and determination to ensure they will finish the weekend at the top of the table, regardless of how City get on against Forest.
“That last 20 minutes wasn’t nice but it was worth it,” added Saka. “We know it’s a big derby, once they got one [goal] the crowd was up and the momentum shifted their way. I’m proud of the boys for getting it done.
“We just needed to be calm, everything was quite frantic. We know what [the win] means to the fans and to us. It means everything and we know this is a massive win for us. We’ve got three [games] to go and we need to be perfect.”
