Aaron Ramsey believes the loss of Yaya Toure for Manchester City will be key when the reigning champions visit Arsenal on Sunday.
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The Gunners managed a 1-0 win against the Citizens last April through a Mikel Arteta goal, and Ramsey believes the absence of Toure, who has left for the Africa Cup of Nations, will provide the north Londoners with the perfect opportunity to repeat the feat.
"It will give us an extra bit of belief," the Wales international told Arsenal Player.
"We beat them last year at home and with Yaya Toure gone to the Africa Cup of Nations, it is a big loss for them.
"He is a big player for them and so influential, so hopefully we can take full advantage of that and get another good result."
Arsene Wenger's side will by no means be at full strength, however, as Gervinho also heads to South Africa to join up with Toure for the Ivory Coast and a knee injury hampering France striker Olivier Giroud.
The absentees might prove to be decisive for Arsenal, who head into a busy January fixture line-up, but Ramsey insists they have enough strength in depth to deal with it.
"It is a big month for us. We play some teams who are above us (in the Premier League) and we have an FA Cup game as well, so it is important to take these opportunities," he added.
"We have Manchester City at home and Chelsea away, games that we did well in last season, so hopefully we can do the same again this year and that will set us up nicely for the run in to the end of the season."
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