Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta relishes 'most beautiful part of the season' in hectic Premier League run-in

Mikel Arteta is relishing the "most beautiful part of the season" as the battle for the Premier League title roars on between his Arsenal side, Liverpool, and Manchester City.

Arsenal will know by the time of kick-off against Aston Villa on Sunday how their fellow title contenders Liverpool and City fared against Crystal Palace and Luton Town respectively.

Arteta said that knowing other teams' results is going to be a natural occurrence over the coming weeks, and that his side have to remain focused on the task at hand.

"We will know the results but we’ll still have our duty to win our game which is the only thing that we can control," he told press on Friday.

"That’s happened a few times already and it’s going to happen again in the next few weeks, so we’ll just focus on what we can do, what we can control and make sure that we perform like we have to do against a really good side to try to beat them."

On his team's momentum, Arteta added: "It’s really good and we want to carry on going.

"It's the most beautiful part of the season coming up right now and a very busy schedule. We’re going to have a really tough [game] against a really good side, and are we going to have to be really good to beat them."

As well as having seven Premier League fixtures left to play before the season's conclusion on May 19, Arsenal remain in the hunt for their maiden UEFA Champions League title - heading to Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena with horns locked on a 2-2 aggregate score-line in their quarter-final clash.

Arteta also spoke of the positive energy in the camp, despite the pressure on his squad.

"I think it's the motivation," he said. "They are super excited about what we are doing and the way the team is performing - they want more.

"We know the challenge ahead of us and how good we have to be to win it, but we are going to try."

Villa, who visit the Emirates on Sunday, are closely hunting down a Champions League spot currently occupied by Tottenham.

Only goal difference separates Villa and Ange Postecoglou's side, and Arteta was full of praise for the work done by Unai Emery to steer the Midlands club's fortunes.

"What they have done since Unai came in - they have made a huge impact on the club," he said. "They are still in a European competition and I am really impressed with what they have done.

"We don’t know what they are going to do. They won last night and they are a good side. We know they're dangerous and their strengths - we will try to win it."

Arsenal lead Liverpool on a positive nine-goal difference with the teams locked on 71 points. Pep Guardiola's City sit third, behind by a single point.

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