Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes his team-mates will be even more determined to beat Arsenal on Sunday following the end of their unbeaten Barclays Premier League record.
City got Monday's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea out of their system by heading into London for their Christmas party, but with Manchester United facing QPR in the early kick-off, they could find themselves knocked off top spot by the time they face Arsene Wenger's men.
Kompany respects the Gunners but feels the fierce determination within the City squad will ensure the hosts are fully primed for the challenge, and said: "Monday has made us feel more hungry. We want Sunday to come as quickly as possible and to play football again. That is the kind of team we are."
He added: "I definitely have a lot of respect for Arsenal. On Sunday, we are looking to do what they have done. They have picked themselves up after a difficult month. The way they have done that is absolutely incredible.
"I consider them as a top team, who will make a top game of it. But we are a difficult team to beat at home. In the big games, even when we didn't win, we still looked like the team that was most likely to win the game.
"There is no reason for us to be arrogant about this fixture. Arsenal are a great team. But we can beat great teams."
After dropping just two points in their opening 11 matches, City have collected only four from the last three. That the failures to win came at Liverpool and Chelsea indicates there is no reason for concern.
However, Kompany feels the fact that six teams still harbour hopes of finishing champions is a pointer to how hard it will be to win any trophy this term.
"You might have a dream about how your season will go but you don't have a plan," he said.
"Looking at it, our position two points clear at the top means the other teams have done an incredible job as well to keep up with it. It just shows there is not going to be an easy way to success this year."
Source: PA
Source: PA