Though the result at the Emirates won’t decide the title, it could be pivotal with a win for the hosts establishing a six-point gap with a game in hand, while a City win would see Pep Guardiola’s men leapfrog the Gunners into pole position.
A draw would leave the gap at three points with 15 matches remaining for the Blues and 16 for Arsenal.
“It’s a very important game for us,” said Rodrigo.
“It is not a final, but we will have to play like it is a final because they are the best team in the league, up to now.
“We have been great over the last month even though sometimes we have not had the best results.
“I think the performance of the team against Aston Villa shows that we are going to fight, and we have to go there with a great ambition after recovery because it will be a massive game for us.”
Asked how he felt about who were favourites to take the title, Rodrigo said: “If I’m honest we don’t think about these things, we don’t think if we are favourites or not despite what we have done.
“There are still 16 games, it’s a lot. Yeah, we have the chance to go to Arsenal and be on top of the table.
“I hope we can show the best performance of the team against the best opponents right now in the Premier League, they have showed until now.
“I think we have to show our personality, our champions personality, from this moment until we go to the Emirates, show we can fight against them, and we can put on a good game.”
Rodrigo scored his second goal of the campaign against Villa on Sunday – his 15th in 183 appearances for City.
He says he felt he needed to respond positively and make an impact after being disappointed with his display the week before.
“Of course, it was very important for me, it is part of the game,” he said.
“The last game (against Tottenham), I didn’t have a great performance, I wanted to show up and step forward against Villa.
“It was a special goal for me and for the team to win and get three points here at home. I think from the very first minutes we showed that we were much better, but next is Arsenal and that is our focus now
