Mahrez is a big fan of the prestigious cup competition - the oldest national football competition in the world.
He’s won it once under Pep Guardiola, in the 2018/19 season - and he is keen to win it again.
He said: “It is a very good trophy, a very good cup. It is a historic cup in this country.
“We won it once and it is something that we want to win more. We are going to go for it.
“I think it will be important to win. It is a challenge against a good team who are first in the league at the moment.
CITY v ARSENAL | FOLLOW ON OUR OFFICIAL APP
“They are the best team in the country at the moment. But they are coming to us on Friday, so let’s see what they can offer.”
Mahrez knows all about the challenge City face as they take on the Premier League summit team, Arsenal.
He’s looking forward to Friday – and, also, the battle ahead over the next months to be crowned Champions of England.
He continued: “I think they have been really good, but we are used it.
“Every year we have had a team [pushing us in the League]. It was Liverpool for four or five years and this year it is Arsenal.
CITY V ARSENAL | MATCH PREVIEW
“We are going to go for it. They are doing good, but we will see where it takes us both.
“At the moment, they are in front but there is still a long way to go.”
From a personal perspective, Mahrez is in a rich vein of form.
Across all competitions since the World Cup, he’s provided nine goals and assists across 650 minutes played – that’s 72 minutes per goal or assist.
He’s scored six goals, provided three assists and created 14 chances from open play, making him arguably City’s most important player of the moment.
Mahrez is happy to be firmly in form.
He added: “I had a few problems before and I wasn’t performing very good before.
CITY V ARSENAL | INJURY UPDATE
“Here at big clubs and big teams, they don’t wait. If you are not ready, someone else is going to play and play good.
“Since the break, I worked hard during the holidays while everyone was at the World Cup.
“I came back really good, fresh and it is good at the moment.
“I am contributing and helping the team, so I have to keep going.”
City v Arsenal
You can follow Friday’s FA Cup match across mancity.com and our official app.
Live updates will begin on our Matchday Centre at 18:00 (UK), a full two hours ahead of kick-off.
Matchday Live, our City-centric live studio show, will then begin shortly before 19:00 when we will deliver team news to you first. Michael Brown, Paul Dickov and Shaun Goater are the guests for that one. They will also be back at half-time and full-time to review the action.
Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison will talk you through the match with our live radio commentary, while minute-by-minute text updates continue on our Matchday Centre.
After the match, we will have reaction from Pep Guardiola and City players before highlights and a full-match replay, on CITY+ and Recast, are available from midday on Saturday.
