Maresca insists he always puts how his players perform ahead of winning.
"For sure I would like to win this kind of game, but since we started I've always said the same thing: I analyse the result, but first I analyse the performance," Maresca stated.
"Do you think we deserved to lose against Liverpool? Me neither, but it’s football. Now, hopefully, we can win on Sunday but in the Premier League, it’s difficult to win against any team.
"For sure, if I can decide, then I want to win against Arsenal. No doubt. But Liverpool away, the performance was good and we didn’t deserve to lose. Even against City, the good thing is we are there and you can’t see a big difference when we play in this kind of game. This is the most important thing.
"I don’t know if it will be Sunday or the next game, but for sure we will be there and win this kind of game. No doubt."
On Arsenal, he added: "For me, they are closest to City, and I consider them better than the rest. The reason why is one club is working with the same manager for nine years and the other is working with the same manager for five years.
"This is a huge advantage compared to the rest and it’s why in this moment they are better than the rest, but we will try on Sunday to make life difficult for them. We will try to play our game, and prepare in the best way we can. We are going to try our best."