The 25th round of the 2025/26 Premier League season will feature a key match as Arsenal host newly promoted Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta stated in a press conference that the season is now entering a crucial phase, and therefore urged the team to dedicate all their energy to securing victory.

With goals from Martin Zuweimendi, Maduk, Dzekelresh, and Jesus, Arsenal secured a 4-0 away victory against Leeds United in their last league match. After 16 rounds with 16 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, Arsenal currently sit atop the table with 53 points, 6 points ahead of title rivals Manchester City.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said, "I hope this is the best atmosphere we've ever seen in a match, with everyone ready to kick off and seizing every opportunity. That's what we want. We've entered a very crucial phase of the season, and we all know what every game means, so everyone needs to go into the stadium with that energy."

"This is our top priority, and our only priority. We must dedicate all our energy and commitment to it. We will do everything in our power to earn the right to win."

Looking back at their first encounter this season, Arsenal came back from a goal down to take the lead thanks to goals from Saka and Trossard, but then conceded another goal in the final stages and were eventually held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland.

Arteta said, "They are very competitive, the coach is excellent, they have strong individual abilities, a very distinctive style, and they know how to play and how to control the game, and they execute it very well. You can see that from their performance against strong teams, so we know what challenges we will face, but the key is that we must perform. This is another opportunity to win, consolidate our ranking, and strive for victory again."

"We just need to do our job now, and it's going to be a very tough game. They've had an outstanding season, so we're aware of the complexity of this match."

It's worth mentioning that Arsenal defeated Chelsea twice in the earlier English League Cup semi-finals, successfully continuing their title challenge. The Gunners will travel to Wembley Stadium next month to compete against Manchester City for the championship.

Arteta said, "The energy from beating the mighty Chelsea and reaching the final at Wembley in a few weeks is enormous, and that's exactly what we wanted. You can feel the excitement from the fans, which is fantastic. Now, we need to turn our attention to the next game."

“We do the same preparation every week. Every opponent is different and brings new challenges, and we have been dealing with these tests for the past few months. We must continue to maintain this hunger and level of commitment. If we do this in every game, we have a great chance to win a lot of games.”

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