Arnold knows both sides of the coin after guiding Central Coast Mariners to an A-League Championship in 2013 before losing one in 2015 with the Sky Blues.

Arnold, along with City coach John van’t Schip, had a look at the trophy on the AAMI Park surface on the eve of the final on Tuesday.

And as his team sit undefeated and first on the A-League table after eight games, Arnold said he would not be changing tactics for the Cup final.

“It’s another game, the rules haven’t been changed, the goalposts haven’t been changed, it’s another game we have to win and we will win,” Arnold said.

“We’re confident, it’s going to be a wonderful occasion, big crowd for both teams and we’re prepared as normal for another game.

“We want all three trophies (at the end of the season), no doubt Melbourne City want the same, most important thing for us is ourselves is to get our performance right and we play to a game plan.

“We’ve been in this position only two years ago in a Grand Final with a lot of our players, so we do know what it’s like to be in a big game and big final and we look forward to the occasion.”

Sydney had the extra day to recoup after playing Saturday's Round Eight goalless clash against Adelaide United while City defeated Wellington 2-1 the following night.

Arnold said it made no difference whether the fixture was held in Melbourne or Sydney.

“The benefit is the extra day off to freshen up, yesterday was our recovery day, and today was theirs, that’s the better side of it,” he said.

“Playing in Melbourne is fantastic, it doesn’t bother us one bit, we’ve had good results down here in the past and it’s a beautiful stadium, good surface, atmosphere and thousands of Sydney FC fans who will travel for the game, so it doesn’t bother us.”

Sky Blues captain Alex Brosque put Sydney's fine form this season down to the key signings of Bobo, Josh Brilliante, Alex Wilkinson and Michael Zullo.

“There was enough quality in the team last season, I think the guys we’ve added this year and the characters and personalities they brought with them has just changed everything within the change room,” Brosque said.

“Everything is set up well in terms of character and team spirit before we even go out and train, that’s very important, guys like Wilko, his leadership has meant a lot and is a big reason why we’ve only conceded two goals this season.

“Everyone has come in and added that little bit we were missing last season and for me been a big difference.

“The squad we have now, the guys coming off the bench are doing an equal good job as the guys starting and that competition for places is the reason we started so well.”