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Arteta will lead Arsenal against Manchester City on Thursday (AEST), a fixture that was postponed on 12 March, a day before the Gunners' head coach retuned a positive test for the deadly virus.

Thankfully, the 38-year-old made a full recovery but, with the UK's COVID-19-related death toll now in excess of 40,000, it is sobering to consider how much worse this grave situation might have been.

After City v Arsenal was called off, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive and the pending weekend fixture schedule was axed before the season was placed on hold.

Without the red flag of Arteta's case being raised, it is possible a succession of mass gatherings would have taken place across the country at a time when the virus was already spreading rapidly.

"I have thought about it," he told a pre-match Zoom call, when it was mentioned projections from epidemiologists suggested the former City assistant might inadvertently have saved a number of lives.

"I thought about the night I started to have some symptoms, how serious that was. It was a matter that I could not make a decision on, it had to be reported because I could put a lot of people at risk.

"I wasn't willing to do that. I love this game but we have bigger responsibilities. I think we made the right call.

"You have to say the authorities and the Premier League did as well. They went really strong on that and I think I agree with you, it could have been much worse than that."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to feature for Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium despite consternation over his long-term future at the club.

Discussions over a new contract are yet to reach a satisfactory conclusion and Arteta's confidence when it comes to finding a resolution sat somewhat at odds with the frustration Aubameyang expressed when speaking to French television programme Telefoot over the weekend.

Champions League qualification would certainly ease future planning and the club's financial picture – they reported a £27.1million loss for the previous year in February.

"We haven't been able to achieve the goals that we want in the last three years," Arteta said, with Arsenal ninth in the table ahead of the Premier League's resumption, but still in the picture for a first top-four finish since 2015-16.

"There's a reason behind it and if we stand still, obviously, that gap will be getting bigger and bigger and I haven't come here to accept that.

"The challenge is to improve the players that we have and to improve the squad in the right positions, in order to give us the best possible chance and the tools that we need to compete at that level. It's getting higher and higher every year."

Arsenal's last away win against a "big six" club came at City in January 2015 – a sorry run that says much about their recent malaise.

"A club like Arsenal cannot be that long without winning if you want to compete with the big four, five or six teams in this country," Arteta said.

"We have to change that straight away. That is the way we will travel to Manchester, knowing how difficult the opponent is, how good they are, but focusing on what we can do and what we can control."