MANCHESTER, December 2 – Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has admitted to a growing level of frustration at City's recent inability to win but he is confident that his team can change that against Arsenal in their League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
Hughes’s side have drawn their last seven Premier League matches and now trail leaders Chelsea by 14 points.
"There’s a frustration because we’ve not been able to convert winning situations into victories at the moment," Hughes said.
"But we all feel it’s only a matter of time before that changes."
Hughes lamented the lack of killer-instinct that his side has displayed of late but he has no hesitation in declaring that one win – however they get it and whenever it comes – is all his side require to get their season back on track.
"In that run we haven’t been beaten, but we haven’t had enough wins and that’s the frustration for everybody," he added.
"Winning is a habit, just as losing can be a habit. At the moment we’ve got the drawing habit.
"I know the one I prefer and I know the one I don’t particularly like. The word that keeps coming up is frustration, that we haven’t been able to change our fortunes as we’d have liked.
"But the lads are playing with enough confidence to change that around very quickly and that’s what we hope will happen against Arsenal."
Meanwhile Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, following a 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea last weekend that left his side 11 points adrift of the league leaders, said he planned to continue his policy of giving young players a chance to shine in the League Cup.
"This policy has been extremely successful – not necessarily in terms of winning the tournament, although we have been in the latter stages, but just because it is good preparation for the players to play in the Premier League," said Wenger.
"Denilson and Alex Song are two very relevant examples now.
"They both played in midfield during our 6-3 win at Anfield three seasons ago, and are classic cases of how much this competition prepares players for the top flight."
