Arsene Wenger is confident that Arsenal have learned their lessons from last season’s collapse and are prepared to put an end to their 20-year wait for the Premier League title.
For the second year in a row, Mikel Arteta’s emerging side lead the table heading into the final stages, narrowly ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with champions Manchester City just a point behind.
Amid a growing injury crisis twelve months ago, Arsenal's form declined during the final stages of the season, drawing three successive matches before suffering a humbling 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Arteta’s team returns to face the same challenge on Sunday, with Wenger acknowledging that his former side now appears to be a far more resilient group, better equipped to withstand the pressure of competing with the City powerhouse.
"I think so, yes," Wenger told one his former players, Freddie Ljungberg, when asked if Arsenal have what it takes to go all the way.
"The next game will be a little decider because we go to Man City. Why not? City is always a difficult team to play but maybe not as dominant as they were last year at the moment but that can always come. They know how to do it, they have the knowledge, they have been there.
"Arsenal has the capacity but they have to show they can do it now. I hope and I’m convinced they have learned from last year. Last year the tension got to them and they dropped in the final sprint.
"Maybe this year because they have two competitions to go for they might be a bit more relaxed."
Regardless of the side an injury-hit City select tomorrow, meanwhile, Arteta is similarly adamant his troops are now far better equipped to deal with the magnitude of a fixture that could well define the title race.
"[Last season] there were many factors that didn’t help us," he said. "We got the injuries in the Sporting game, and there was a lot happening and that momentum shifted to a more negative momentum.
"We were struggling to keep up [with City] because they kept winning, they won 14 or 15 games in a row and they managed to do it.
"[It showed] the level that we are facing and where we want to be. Certainly, that’s where we want to be and you have to make strong steps to get there.
"I think we have made some big ones in the last two or three years and we’re getting much closer and now it is about how you close that gap and actually try to be better than them."