'Beautiful': Mikel Arteta responds to question about who he'd prefer to win out of Liverpool or Man City

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Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester City takes centre-stage in the Premier League this weekend.

The Reds have put themselves into a formidable position over recent weeks and could move 11 points clear of City with a win.

The game also has ramifications for Arsenal, who currently sit below Liverpool, City and Chelsea in fourth place in the Premier League table.

After a difficult few weeks, the Gunners have bounced back since the international break, winning their last two games and looking back to their old selves.

Playing on Saturday evening away at West Ham, Arsenal have the chance to move ahead of City and close the gap on Liverpool to six points.

From there, a draw in Sunday’s big game would perhaps be the perfect result for Arsenal. And as he looked ahead to his own team’s match on Friday, Mikel Arteta was asked for his thoughts on Liverpool vs Man City.

Mikel Arteta confirms he’ll be watching Liverpool vs Man City

After drawing against Liverpool in October, Arsenal then lost away at Newcastle, putting them a little adrift in the title race.

A draw against Chelsea reinforced the notion that they are battling for a Champions League place more than anything, but they’ll feel they are still in the mix to go for more.

Whether that turns out to be the case or not, Arsenal are still seen as the most likely challenger to Liverpool and Man City.

As a result, Arteta was asked during his pre-West Ham press conference on Friday whether he’d be tuning in to see proceedings at Anfield.

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“100 per cent. It’s a big match, a beautiful match to watch,” answered the Spaniard. “Two of the best teams in Europe facing each other, competition for us.”

Pushed on whether he had a preference over who wins the game, Arteta gave a tongue-in-cheek response.

“Yes. Arsenal tomorrow, that’s the preference!” he answered. “Then we will see, it’s something we cannot control.”

Liverpool move to take Arsenal out of the equation

There’s little question that a draw is the best result for Arsenal on Sunday. You’d always prefer two rivals to drop points than one.

However, they have to do the business themselves first. Although they are looking better since the most recent break, away at West Ham is never a straightforward task.

The Hammers surprisingly beat Newcastle 2-0 on Monday evening and will have their tails up for a London Derby.

If Arsenal drop points, Liverpool can move to virtually take them – and perhaps even City – out of the equation of the title rice.

The closest the Gunners can be to the top of the table come Sunday night is six points. If Liverpool can make it nine or even more, it could start to look a long way back for Arteta and co.