Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey believes his side has learned lessons from their chastening experiences against the Premier League's top sides last season, as they prepare for their first big test of the season at Everton on Saturday.
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Arsene Wenger's Gunners were beaten 3-0 in the same fixture at Goodison Park last April, with heavy away defeats against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool combining to end their push for the Premier League title. Yet Ramsey believes this season's Arsenal side will be more robust in their battles against their chief rivals, even though he has admitted they may be physically at a disadvantage.
"Manchester City are a big team and Chelsea are a big team," Ramsey told Sky Sports. "We're quite a small team by comparison and we like to get the ball down. Maybe they won't be as agile and we can play around them.
"It helps those teams with power and drive, but I'm sure we'll be playing the other way. These teams are always capable of getting results off each other. The Premier League was really tight last season and I think it's only going to get tighter and tighter.
"It's going to be more difficult to win it because I think there are six teams now. The so-called bigger teams are going to drop points throughout the season. The key when that time comes is to go to the next game and get back to winning ways.
"It's a long season and I'm sure there are going to be many twists and turns. There's going to be a few teams fighting for it."
Ramsey admitted Saturday's trip to Everton is a vital test for Arsenal, as they look to correct the wrongs of last season at the first attempt.
"The biggest thing we need to do is to pick up points against the bigger teams away from home," he added.
"If we'd have nicked a win or a couple draws in those games last season we would have been up there on 84 or 85 points.
"That's the one thing we have to improve on. We lost to Everton away last year so we go there on Saturday and we'll be looking to put things right and hopefully come away with a good result."