Ruben Dias has sent a defiant warning to Arsenal ahead of their titanic clash with Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Manchester City’s 100% winning start to the 2024/25 season was brought to an end on Wednesday night as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Inter, the first time they have dropped points at home in a Champions League group game in five years.
It was a challenging game for Pep Guardiola’s side in which they were knocked off their usual tempo by a dangerous and cunning Inter.
The Italians countered with breathtaking speed time and again but failed to capitalise on several dangerous attacks.
City did play their way back into things and had enough chances to win the match themselves with Phil Foden going close and Ilkay Gundogan missing two golden headers in the final moments.
A goalless draw was a fair result, though, as the Blues kicked-off their new-look Champions League campaign against their toughest opponent.
The big games are coming thick and fast for City as next up they face Arsenal in a match which could already have a defining impact on the Premier League title race.
Yet, Ruben Dias is not concerned with how early the match has come and has warned Arsenal that City are more than ready to take them on.
Ruben Dias says Man City will be ready for Arsenal
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Dias shared how City will prepare for the Gunners: “Well, take the rest we need.
“We know Arsenal very well, they know us very well and obviously it’s going to be a very intense game.
“It’s still early stages but it’s never too early to play a clash like this so we will be there. We will be ready.”
Dias also offered his thoughts on the draw with Inter: “A very intense game against a very strong opponent.
“We knew what was coming, they’re a top team as well, they’re used to winning, and we knew we’re not going to have an easy job.
“In the end, I think the team had a great performance, we were very close to scoring.
“But we take it, and obviously we move forward, but it was a very good test as well for us to play against such a strong side.”
Man City and Arsenal’s records so far
City are the only team in the Premier League to still have a perfect record after they came behind from the early setback to defeat Brentford on Saturday.
Arsenal, meanwhile, dropped points in their third match after being held to a draw by Brighton. Yet, they bounced back to win a tightly-contested North London derby at the weekend and are second in the table.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 1 |  Man CityManchester City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 3 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
The Gunners will have less time to prepare as they take on Atalanta away in the Champions League on Thursday but Mikel Arteta will have no doubt paid close attention to how well Brentford and Inter performed against City this week and the weaknesses they exploited.
Both clubs could go into the game without their star playmakers, too. Martin Odegaard’s ankle injury is worse than feared and he is set for a longer spell on the sidelines while Kevin De Bruyne went off with a knock on Wednesday.
