Arsenal will host Manchester City in the weekend’s standout game, as Mikel Arteta aims to start a new chapter in his rivalry with Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal and Manchester City are in a similar vein of form, with the Gunners taking full advantage of their rivals’ shortcomings last weekend. Mikel Arteta seemed relaxed on the sidelines as his players made light work of their clash away to Bournemouth.
Kai Havertz’s penalty helped the German open his account in Arsenal colours. Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Ben White also got on the scoresheet in a comprehensive display of dominance. With Manchester City and Liverpool both losing their games, the Gunners are currently one of the two teams still unbeaten in the Premier League.
PEP 💬 This season they [Arsenal] are still there because they are good. The recruitment they have done is top. Exceptional players. pic.twitter.com/1GONJRw2h3
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 6, 2023
While many expected Arsenal to repeat their weekend performance away at RC Lens, the French outfit time gave the Gunners a lesson of sorts with a good win over Arteta’s side. That result was also mired by the injury sustained by Saka midway through the first half, which will have fans worried. For Arteta, Manchester City will have big importance as he looks to break their Premier League hoodoo against the champions.
Pep Guardiola sat in the stands watching his team get beat at Wolves, with some of his pre-game comments coming back in full force. For instance, the Manchester City boss mentioned the threat of their forwards Hwang Hee-chan, Pedro Neto, and Matheus Cunha, with the trio combining to good effect during that win for Wolves.
Many have insisted those results are due to the absence of influential midfielder Rodri, but Guardiola has insisted that is not the case. The Manchester City players responded with a win away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League and will hope to repeat that at the Emirates on Sunday.
Manchester City’s result at Wolves put more emphasis on the game at the Emirates, as the defeat allowed Arsenal and Tottenham to close the gap at the top to one point. Guardiola will surely hope to continue his impressive spell against the Gunners and secure their 13th consecutive win over the North Londoners.
Team News & Tactics
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta is not going about giving clear indications about his plans, and it is anybody’s guess which players he would choose in several positions. Given Arsenal do not have a clear bill of health, there are chances for some surprises in the lineup, including playing Havertz up front, something he did during the Community Shield game.
Mikel has provided an update on Saka ahead of Manchester City 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 6, 2023
The big update was about Saka, who hobbled off in midweek with a suspected hamstring problem. Gareth Southgate has named him in his England squad, which tends to suggest the injury is not serious. And Arteta has insisted that Saka is in contention for Sunday.
Then there is Thomas Partey, who was sidelined for slightly over a month but has been training since Monday. Arteta will know the need to have a fiery midfield setup and may look to start the Ghanaian alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
That leaves his choices for the front three a bit complicated. Assuming Saka starts, and with Gabriel Martinelli missing, Arteta might end up choosing Gabriel Jesus to play wide left and Eddie Nketiah to lead the line. Alternatively, Leandro Trossard is also an option on the left, but the manager might prefer the first plan.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Nketiah, Jesus
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola must tinker with his lineup and make the correct call for a game of this magnitude. Last week, he got his midfield setup wrong and might look to bring Kalvin Phillips into the mix against Arsenal, with Rodri still missing through suspension.
PEP 💬 We are not going to cry or complain [about replacing Rodrigo in the team]. We have to find a solution. We will have 11 players there to try and win in London. pic.twitter.com/D9Gr1WA36j
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 6, 2023
Kevin De Bruyne is still out of the picture, Guardiola has insisted John Stones is not in contention for the weekend despite making the bench against Leipzig. Bernardo Silva started in midweek, but there are doubts he is ready to take the pitch right from the off against Arsenal.
Manchester City do have plenty of options that could consign Silva to the bench for the time being. Jeremy Doku has impressed, while Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez are hitting good form. Erling Haaland has not been getting on the scoresheet with the regularity of last season, but Guardiola does not look too concerned about it.
At the back, Guardiola will continue to place the trust in Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias. Josko Gvardiol could play in that left-back role where Nathan Ake started against Wolves.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Phillips, Kovacic; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland
Key Stats
- Arsenal are undefeated in their last eight matches in the Premier League.
- Mikel Arteta has beaten 23 of the 24 teams he has faced as a manager in the Premier League, failing to record a victory only against Manchester City, losing all seven meetings.
- Arsenal have lost their last 12 league games in a row against Manchester City – their worst run of defeats against any single opponent in their history.
- Manchester City won just one of their away games against the teams who finished in the top nine in the Premier League in 2022/23.
- Since the start of last season, Erling Haaland has scored more goals (44) than Chelsea (43) in the Premier League.
Player to Watch
Declan Rice
Pep Guardiola wanted to sign Declan Rice as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan this past summer. But the English international chose Arsenal instead of Arsenal. There is a reason why the Gunners have looked solid despite the absence of Thomas Partey in their midfield, and Rice has been magnificent in his performances.
The neutrals would have relished an on-pitch midfield battle between Rice and Rodri. With the latter absent, the Arsenal man has a big opportunity to stamp his authority. In games like these, the teams that dominate the central areas are likely to take the win, and Rice will be a major asset for Arsenal in that regard.
Prediction
Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City
One could argue that without Rodri, Manchester City might struggle against Arsenal, which might still happen. Last weekend against Wolves, they were outplayed at times. Mikel Arteta might take a leaf out of Gary O’Neil’s look to repeat that performance.
At home, Arsenal could be considered favourites, but their recent record against Manchester City suggests otherwise. Without Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, they still have the superiority in quality to outsmart the Gunners on their turf. On paper, a win for Guardiola seems like the prediction. Yet, things could go differently, and Arteta might have a different opinion at the end of the game.
