Arsene Wenger: Confidence is high but momentum can change at any moment

Wenger’s side certainly had the swagger of champions as it picked City apart with first-half goals while the visitors looked forlorn until Yaya Toure netted with eight minutes remaining.

Arsenal are four points clear of Manchester City and are second in the table, two points behind Leicester City, after a third straight Premier League victory – a run that followed three matches without a win which included a 2-1 defeat at West Brom.

He has not featured in a league game since and is now out on loan at Roma but, after seeing his side mature over the course of 12 months, Wenger feels it was an important lesson for his players.

After 10 years of promise could it finally be Arsenal’s time to realise their potential and finish first at the top of the Barclays Premier League or is it just another false dawn? For us it’s important we realise that.

Wenger was also asked about Pep Guardiola, who is to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season and has been linked with both Manchester City and United.

They looked short of their best at the Emirates, with key defender Vincent Kompany still sidelined by injury and star striker Sergio Aguero making his way back from a spell on the sidelines.

Arsenal have won their last three Premier League games following victories over Sunderland, Aston Villa and City. “If you don’t believe, you are not in the profession”.

“That is our thought and that is why we implement them into games sometimes, but we are still risky on the counter attack and that makes us a real threat”.

Theo Walcott scored a superb goal against City so I’d be surprised if he was left out while Mesut Ozil was once again in outstanding form on Monday despite feeling the effects of a chest infection.

“We hope that Vincent will return back soon”, Pellegrini said.

And that is why he thinks more teams are enjoying success on the road this campaign.

“We know we need a win”. “That is how we approach things at the minute, how we approach the season and every single game”. They are brilliant going forward and like to try to play the possession game.

“To win these sorts of game, you need to believe you can do it. Overall what came out of the game was a strong team attitude and strong team effort”.