Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has insisted his side are ready for their Premier League showdown with fifth-placed Arsenal despite a recent defeat to Chelsea.
The league leaders lost the clash at Stamford Bridge 2-1, courtesy of a late Frank Lampard penalty, after seeing Gael Clichy sent off for two yellow cards.
The result means that Roberto Mancini’s side are now only two points ahead of fierce rivals Manchester United at the top of the table, with Chelsea just seven points adrift in third place.
However, the Belgian international believes that they can shake off that defeat for the visit of the Gunners on Sunday.
He told Sky Sports News: “Everybody is already fired up for Arsenal and that’s what we want now, to play football again on Sunday.
“That’s the main thing for us – everybody is ready for the next game.”
After the defeat on Monday night, several of the club’s players were seen attending their annual fancy dress Christmas party in south-west London.
However, Kompany believes their attitude will be more serious before City’s next fixture where they are hoping to show the necessary team spirit to bounce back from defeat.
He continued: “I’m only going to say one thing about it – you don’t show how good or strong a team you are in the good moments when you win all the games.
“After a defeat it’s important you show that you’re still a team and you’re ready for the next game.”
How do you stay up with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.