Arsenal boss Unai Emery concedes they face a tough task overcoming champions Manchester City in their season opener.

Emery's faces a daunting prospect for his first competitive match in charge on Sunday as Manchester City travel to north London to begin the defence of a title they won by 19 points last term.

“We want to start well, we want to play and we want to show our quality, our work in this month tactically and with our spirit," said Emery. “I want to show and to be together with the supporters and to start a new way, a new process. With the same players and also our new players with us, and with a new culture and new staff.

“We are working to improve each match and each training session. But Sunday, we need to show on the pitch our performance at a big level. The position is demanding our best moments tactically and also individually. It's for that, that on Sunday I want first to be together with our supporters. It helps, if we're together, for the players to show their best performance and to transmit with every supporter the quality, the energy and the spirit to go forward against Manchester City.

“It's more easy to speak here than to do it on the pitch. City, I think, after two years of working with Guardiola they have more stability, more security and when you watch City's matches, they are playing with a very, very great confidence in themselves. Also, I think that Guardiola's coaching is clear in this team.

“For that, we are working this week and preparing for this game and preparing for the opposition against City as a collective and as individual players. Above all, it's about confidence in ourselves to play the best match on Sunday. We are to think only to win the match."