Arsenal manager Unai Emery has said that he is "excited" about the prospect of facing defending champions Manchester City in their opening Premier League match of the 2018-19 campaign.
Emery's reign as Gunners boss gets off to a daunting start against a team that waltzed to the title last season, while his second competitive match at the helm pits him against Chelsea in a London derby.
The former Paris Saint-Germain coach acknowledged that City will pose a stern test for his side at the Emirates, but insists that they are going into the game aiming to pick up all three points.
"We are excited. We have a lot of ambition to start well on Sunday against the last winners of the Premier League. Also, I think that it's a big and great match that we can play to start this season," Emery told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
"It's more easy to speak here than to do it on the pitch. City, I think, after two years of working with [Pep] Guardiola they have more stability, more security and when you watch City's matches, they are playing with a very, very great confidence in themselves.
"Also, I think that Guardiola's coaching is clear in this team. For that, we are working this week and preparing for this game and preparing for the opposition against City as a collective and as individual players. Above all, it's about confidence in ourselves to play the best match on Sunday. We are to think only to win the match."
Arsenal lost all three meetings with Man City last season, conceding exactly three goals in each game.
Barney Corkhill
