"If someone isn't ready for this game, stay at home. It doesn't matter your age. If you're nervous, stay on the bench or stay at home. You need people to have the balls to come here and play."
This damning assessment came from the mouth of Granit Xhaka last May, after Arsenal saw their hopes of Champions League qualification quashed at the hands of Newcastle. However, it could so easily be pinned on the away dressing room wall of the Etihad before Wednesday night's huge clash against Manchester City.
Expectactions have shifted between Xhaka's now infamous post-match rant and now, with the title in the sights of Arsenal nowadays. However, defeat by Pep Guardiola's men would all but end their hopes of a first league triumph since 2004.
With the stakes so high, manager Mikel Arteta has faced questions over the prospect of some of his players cowering in the face of such pressure, but he responded in similar fashion to Xhaka's outburst.
"No. And if they do, I will just say: ‘I will kill them.’ And I don’t want that at all."
That's them told.
The comments and their similarity to Xhaka's 11 months ago go some way to explaining why the pair enjoy such a stellar relationship, with the Switzerland international one of the few players to remain a regular throughout Arteta's reign.
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In that time, Xhaka has matured. No longer a weak link or livewire that could receive his marching orders at any moment, the 30-year-old is more vital to proceedings now than ever before.
That was on full display during last Friday's enthralling but ultimately disappointing 3-3 draw at home to Southampton, a game Xhaka missed through illness.
Without his presence in the middle of the park, Arsenal failed to gain any kind of grip or control. Fabio Vieira failed to offer anything remotely similar to Xhaka's calmness while also struggling to have an influence in an attacking sense.
Xhaka has travelled to Manchester and is therefore likely to feature from the start, where he will be aiming to avoid the feeling felt in the aftermath of that trip to St. James' Park last term.
"The dressing room is very quiet. The game plan was totally different to what we did over 90 minutes. We are waiting for six years. We had everything in our hands. We looked like we were in the position where Newcastle are and they were where we are."
The comments sparked backlash at the time, with many, including the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, suggesting Xhaka had made too many mistakes in his own Arsenal career to imply others weren't up to the level.
Regardless, when Arteta says his last words to his players before they head out to the Etihad pitch with the eyes of the football world on them, they'll do well to remember Xhaka's advice: "You need people to have the balls to come here and play."
