Arsenal vs Manchester City
Arsenal host Manchester City this weekend in a match that will have huge ramifications on the top of the table. The Gunners will realise the importance of this fixture if they are to seriously challenge for the league title. They need to land a blow on the current champions, after losing both fixtures to them last season. The recent form of Manchester City will encourage Mikel Arteta, as they have lost their last two domestic fixtures, both of which were away from home.
The Gunners managed to record a convincing victory last weekend over AFC Bournemouth. Arsenal fell to a defeat in Europe, but that will need to be put to one side, as the focus needs to be on this weekend. It is their biggest game of the season so far. If their ambition is to win the league title, this is a big opportunity to take a step towards that. City have been dominant in this fixture over recent seasons. At home, Arsenal need to deliver a performance that is good enough to beat them.
Pep Guardiola will be pleased with his side’s start to the season, but there have been a couple of speed bumps over the last two weeks. They were poor against Newcastle and Wolves, which resulted in two defeats. These two matches underlined the importance of Rodri. He will be serving the final match of his suspension this weekend. They need to find a way to win without him.
Interesting stats
Arsenal have a horrendous record in this fixture, losing 15 of the last 16 meetings.
Manchester City have lost a third of their Premier League fixtures without Rodri since he joined.
Key men
Odegaard
The club captain has started the season in great form. He looks to be the most important player to Arsenal, as they don’t have a like-for-like replacement for him in the squad. The Norwegian will be coming up against his compatriot Erling Haaland and he will want to be the one that comes out with the three points. As one of the creative players in the league, he always carries a threat as he can dictate the pace of the game in the final third. However, he is more than just a creative midfielder, as he also regularly scores goals and looks to get the shots away at every opportunity. This season, Odegaard has contributed three goals and one assist. It would be expected that both of these figures will significantly increase in the coming months. He is averaging 2.6 shots per game and will be confident that he can cause problems for Manchester City this weekend.
Haaland
It has been a quiet few weeks for Erling Haaland, as he has failed to score since the 23rd September. For him, that has to be considered a goal draught and if he doesn’t score this weekend, he could go a month without scoring for Manchester City. This would be due to the international break. However, he is relentless in his approach on the pitch and you still expect him to score this weekend. This season, he has scored eight times in seven Premier League matches. Last season, he scored in both fixtures against Arsenal and he will be confident that he can do similar on Sunday. The Gunners haven’t always looked flawless defensively this season and they can be vulnerable. Haaland will want to have a big match in this top-of-the-table clash.
Team news
Bukayo Saka is a doubt for the weekend after limping off during the week. The news did sound more positive about his involvement on Friday. Gabriel Martinelli won’t be back from injury.
Rodri is suspended as he serves the third game of his ban. Bernardo Silva is back available. John Stones and Kevin de Bruyne won’t be involved.
Verdict
This is going to be the highlight of the weekend. Manchester City are the dominant side in England. It is up to the rest of the league to bring them down and Arsenal have emerged as the most threatening challengers. For them to seriously emerge as a threat to Guardiola’s side, they need to beat them on the pitch. When Liverpool won the league title, they had a period of regularly beating City and that gave them confidence that they could top the table. Arsenal need similar confidence. Without Rodri, it is a good chance to play City. However, a draw is more likely than an Arsenal win.
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City
