Oleksandr Zinchenko believes Arsenal’s draw against Manchester City at The Etihad last weekend has fuelled belief they are ready to win the Premier League title.
The Gunners followed up their point against City with a routine 2-0 victory against Luton at The Emirates on Wednesday night to move above Liverpool at the top of the table.
Last weekend’s draw ended an eight game losing streak against Pep Guardiola’s men in Manchester, and a defensive masterclass showed that Mikel Arteta’s side might have what it takes to win the title.
Are Arsenal ready to win the Premier League?
Ukrainian international Zinchenko believes Arsenal have gained confidence from the draw ahead of a crucial run of matches in the title race and a Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich.
Speaking to The Standard he said: “Yeah, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent, because it shows that we are ready to fight for it and we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world.
“It’s not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well, I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others. It shows that Arsenal are ready to fight for it.”
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The absence of Bukayo Saka didn’t effect Arteta’s side as they moved back to the summit, but Liverpool will take that place back if they beat Sheffield United on Thursday, whilst City kept up the pressure with a resounding win against Aston Villa.
It was around this stage last season that Arsenal faded away in the title race as they were overhauled by Guardiola’s side but Zinchenko feels they are now stronger because of that experience.
“Three points was so important for us, because we know that we are fighting for something big this season,” said the 27-year-old.
“This year, all of us have got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.
“We already have this experience from last season, where we were quite far from the others and then, in the end, we didn’t do what we wanted. This experience we need to take with us and then let’s see what is going to happen.”
The former City man has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season and has scored once.
Zinchenko and co head to Brighton on Saturday evening for the latest instalment of the thrilling title race.