Ruben Dias says “there is no running away from Arsenal” and is confident Manchester City will raise their performance levels when the Gunners visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Although City have blazed a trail through their opening four Premier League games this season, winning each of them, they struggled to break down a resolute Inter Milan defence last night with their Champions League opener ending in a goalless draw.
Next up is a clash with an Arsenal side that have been City’s closest challengers in the Premier League over the past two seasons in another tough test for Pep Guardiola’s men.
But Dias says they will be ready for the challenge.
He told The Independent: “There’s no running away from them, hiding from them, if you want to be the best as a team in this league.
“We’re not hiding from nothing. We want them to come and we want to be the best.
“The season has just started. I’d say we’re still far from our best. We were very good [against Inter] but we’re still progressing in quality of play, in mentality, everything.
“We were very happy with the performance. We were solid both attacking and defending and it was very minor, the difference between winning or not.
“It’s another learning [curve]. We have a lot to improve and we look forward for what’s coming.”
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Dias happy with a point
City struggled to break down Simone Inzaghi’s well-drilled side and it was the visitors who had the better chances with Matteo Darmian wasting their best, bizarrely trying a backheel when he was clean through on goal.
In the end, Dias was happy with a point from a rematch of the 2023 final won by City.
“It’s one [point] gained,” he said. “We always want three but the team performed well.
“Just like in the final in Istanbul, they’re still a very strong side and have a lot of quality.
“For us, these are the games that make us be better and stronger.”
