Premier League: Wednesday, 7:30pm
Arsenal and Manchester met less than three weeks ago in the FA Cup at The Etihad when City ran out narrow 1-0 winners.
It was a very evenly-contested game, but it was clear from Mikel Arteta’s team selection that the Spaniard prioritised Arsenal’s title challenge.
He rested six regulars for the trip, while Pep Guardiola put out a strong City XI which eventually prevailed via a cool Nathan Ake finish.
Both teams almost cancelled each other out as they matched each other up with 4-2-3-1 formations and more of the same is likely at The Emirates.
Arteta’s title charge has somewhat faltered in recent weeks after a defeat at Everton and last weekend’s home draw with Brentford.
Those slip-ups have given City the chance to overtake the Gunners and take top spot if they can win in north London on Wednesday night.
Guardiola’s men have made a habit of doing exactly that in recent years. City have won six of the last meetings between the sides and three of those have been at The Emirates.
However, City have struggled away from home in the last month, losing at Southampton in the EFL Cup, as well as losing at Manchester United and Tottenham.
Guardiola’s men did get back on track with a typically powerful performance and win over Aston Villa on Sunday – and they will look to carry that momentum into the Arsenal game.
City looked to be back in the groove, backed by a vociferous home support, but it will be Arsenal who will have that support on Wednesday.
Arteta’s men struggled to break through Brentford’s five-man midfield, but City will get more players in advanced positions. That could give Arsenal more space to go through the gears, but they will also have to defend better than they have in recent weeks.
With so much attacking talent on show, and the two sides have scored more than 100 goals in the league between them, the result could come down to mindset.
A defeat psychologically could do huge damage to Arsenal’s belief; allowing City to go top. And Arteta’s men may just be more concerned about not losing than winning.
City, meanwhile, could also take a similar approach. After getting to within touching distance they will not want to be batted off via a defeat and they know they still have Arsenal to play on home soil.
Therefore it could be worth backing the draw at around 5/2 with both teams more concerned about not giving their opponents a foot up.
Key stats
- Man City have won their last six matches against Arsenal in all competitions
- Arsenal have won just one of their last 14 games vs Man City
- Arsenal are undefeated in 14 of their last 15 PL matches
- Arsenal have gone three games in all competitions without a win
- Man City have won four of their last five games in all competitions
- Man City have lost their last three games away from home in all competitions
