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Manchester City have had an indifferent start to the Premier League season but could turn a corner against Arsenal this weekend.
Pep Guardiola has challenged his new crop of Manchester City stars to prove they can be a "machine" like his previous title-winning sides.
The Catalan has won six league titles at the Etihad, but City slumped to third last season and have had an indifferent start to this campaign, with two wins and two defeats domestically.
There have been signs of promise this week, with a 3-0 Manchester derby success followed by a 2-0 win against Napoli. They face a litmus test for their ambitions on Sunday, with a trip to face Arsenal at the Emirates.
City were beaten 5-1 in North London last season, with Guardiola blaming a "disastrous" spell when his team fell apart. He hopes those collapses are behind his new-look side now, although they were criticised for turning victory into defeat at Brighton three weeks ago. The Blues boss knows consistency is the name of the game if they want to win another title.
"I know my team when it is consistent," he said. "When you win six Premier Leagues, it is because you are a machine, the consistent team and for that you have to prove more.
"But of course, we arrive for the week against United, against Napoli, and now Arsenal. It is not an easy week. The feeling is important, the vibe of the team, and the body language, especially. I am focused on that. The kindness of the team's body language has gone up.
"I am pretty pleased with that and hopefully we can win or lose, always try, and when you see the team is in a good vibe, that is what you have to try to do."
City equalised at the Emirates after 55 minutes back in February, but conceded again immediately and fell apart, shipping four goals in the final 34 minutes.
"We were a lot of the time pretty good, considering how it was last season, but the last 15-20 minutes were a disaster," said Guardiola.
"We forgot to do what we had to do and everyone did that and after that it was easy for Arsenal. Hopefully, this season we can make a little bit more challenge because Mikel is an extraordinary manager and they have increased the squad for this across four or five transfer windows.
"It is an unbelievable squad and an unbelievable team, it is one of the toughest opponents you can find now in Europe. We try to compete to be a better team than we were last season, especially in the last 20-25 minutes."
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