The big games just keep coming as we once again put the only unbeaten home record in the Premier League on the line against Manchester City on Sunday (4.30pm UK)....CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.>>
Having battled hard with Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side for the past couple of seasons, we find ourselves six points ahead of them and with the upper hand in the recent meetings, having remained unbeaten in our last four clashes.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!That form will have to be maintained if we’re to keep up our title push, especially now City’s winter of woe seems to have thawed. They’ve registered some important wins to return to something like the force they have been for the past few seasons, so it seems that once again, this fixture could have a huge say in the destiny of the Premier League title.
City’s confidence returning?
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden celebrate scoring against Brugge
Having been unbeaten in their first nine league games, City were looking odds-on to win a fifth league title in a row, but suddenly their form and confidence plummeted. Cup defeats to Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon were then followed by league losses to Bournemouth, Brighton and Spurs again, this time by a 4-0 scoreline to condemn Pep Guardiola to five straight losses for the first time in his glittering managerial career.
A 3-0 lead against Feyenoord was then squandered before a loss against Liverpool followed, and despite beating Nottingham Forest, they were beaten by Juventus and endured two draws and two defeats over Christmas, incredibly leaving them with one win from 13 matches.
But things have begun to return to normal. They’re now unbeaten in six Premier League games, and only Newcastle have won more points since Christmas than City’s 14. A 4-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain last week left their hopes of remaining in the Champions League on the brink, but after a 3-1 home win against Chelsea they overcame Club Brugge by the same scoreline on Wednesday to set up a play-off clash against Real Madrid.
What the managers say
Arteta: “[A win] would be a big boost for us. Winning big matches is always something special. Every time we play a big match against one of our big rivals it brings something extra – the confidence, the emotion, the fact that they are there and continue to win – for that we want to achieve.
“The business is to be better than them. That’s it. The only thing I review is what happened during that match, how competitive it gets is normal when two big teams want to win the game. Nothing else from that side.”
Pep Guardiola
Guardiola: “We started [this run of games] in Paris, then afterwards Chelsea, so we are already there in terms of difficult games. The schedule is what it is.
“It always happens in the Premier League, always they put the toughest [fixtures] – always they are so kind with the calendar. For many years it happens that way. We had amazing success dealing with this calendar. It’s always been like that, we accept it, I’m not complaining because we won the treble.”
Team news
David Raya during the game against Chelsea
David Raya missed the midweek Champions League win in Girona with a muscular injury with Neto deputising, and the Brazilian is on standby again if our number one isn’t available, but one player who is is Myles Lewis-Skelly after his red card against Wolves was rescinded.
England duo Ben White and Bukayo Saka remain out after knee and hamstring surgery, while Takehiro Tomiyasu and former City man Gabriel Jesus are also missing with their own knee injuries.
Rodri’s ACL injury picked up in the reverse fixture has hampered City all season but he could be back before the end of the season. Ruben Dias, Jeremy Doku and Nathan Ake have sat out recent games and Guardiola admitted they won’t be fit in time for this game.
Oscar Bobb is back in training following a leg fracture, while January arrivals Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis can all feature again after being ineligible in the Champions League. Kyle Walker joined AC Milan on loan earlier this week.
Talking tactics
Kevin de Bruyne
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: City have shifted between a 4-1-4-1 and a 4-2-3-1, with the use of Kevin de Bruyne crucial to which set-up Guardiola prefers. If he is leaning towards a possession-based attacking approach, the Belgian will usually play as a No. 10 but if not, he becomes a box-to-box midfielder in a gameplan more suited to breaking at speed on fast transitions.
Averaging a league-high 61% of possession, City want to monopolise the ball. Bypassing our press by going long to Erling Haaland is an obvious ploy if he is left 1v1 with a marker, but roving left-back Josko Gvardiol also likes to make dangerous runs beyond the defensive line. He can be expertly picked out by keeper Ederson, or a central defender.
City have had more shots than any other team, and have netted a division-high nine times from outside the box. Egyptian star Omar Marmoush has been added to their ranks this month who scored 15 goals in 17 starts for Eintracht Frankfurt prior to the move, so his finishing prowess has to be respected.
However Rodri’s absence means City have also been more susceptible to counter-attacks through the middle, and only three Premier League sides have faced more shots from fast break, and their unusually porous defending has limited them to just five clean sheets in 23 matches.
Facts and stats
Gabriel scores against Manchester City
We are unbeaten in 13 Premier League matches and have won the most points of any side from MD11 onwards (29). We have never had a longer unbeaten run under Mikel Arteta, last going 14 without defeat between August and December 2018.
City have lost just one of their last 40 league matches played from January until the end of the season (W33 D6). They are unbeaten in their last 23 of these games across the last two campaigns.
We have scored the most goals via set pieces (12, excl. pens) in the Premier League this season, while City have conceded the joint-fewest of these goals (2, level with Brentford). One of those though was Gabriel’s goal in the 2-2 draw in September, and five of the last 10 goals we have netted against City have come via corners.
39.6% of the minutes played by Manchester City players in the Premier League this season
have been given to players aged 30 or older.
Phil Foden has scored in four consecutive Premier League games for the very first time, while he’s scored more Premier League goals so far in 2025 than any other player (6).
Kevin De Bruyne has 12 goal involvements in 14 Premier League starts against us, while his eight goals are more than he’s managed against any other side in the competition.
City are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games in London, since their loss at Emirates Stadium in October 2023.
Manchester City have won more points from losing positions than any other side in the Premier League this season (17), with five of their 12 wins coming after conceding the first goal.
Match officials
Bankes
Peter Bankes will be the man in the middle, the third time he’s been handed one of our games this term following our New Year’s Day win at Brentford, and the League Cup success at Preston North End. We’ve lost just twice in 10 games under his watch, which both came at Southampton in 2021 and 2022.
He’s handled two Manchester City matches this season, the last of which saw them lose 2-1 to Aston Villa in December. While he has never booked more than two players or awarded a penalty in any Gunners game, he has pointed to the spot five times in 14 Premier League games this term.
Referee: Peter Bankes
Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
Recent visits from City
Last season saw us end a 12-game losing streak home and away against City courtesy of a 1-0 win in October 2023, sealed by an 86th-minute strike by Gabriel Martinelli. That means we could win consecutive home league games against City for the first time since 2009.
The previous February saw City leapfrog us at the top of the table courtesy of a 3-1 victory, with Kevin De Bruyne opening the scoring before Saka levelled from the penalty spot. However second-half strikes from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland won the game.
Guardiola’s team had previously pitched up in N5 on New Year’s Day 2022, when a last-minute Rodri goal snatched victory for the visitors. Saka had given us the lead, but a Riyad Mahrez penalty and a red card for Gabriel changed the game.
Live coverage
Live From N5
Get pumped for the big game by tuning into Arsenal.com and the official app an hour before kick-off, where Nicole Holliday and Timbsy will be in our new-look Live from N5 studio!
Former Gunner Anders Limpar will join them, who’ll participate in a round of our squad number Higher or Lower game, dedicated to our previous Swedish stars, while Bridgerton actor Martins Imhangbe and DJ AG also drop by the studio.
Leandro Trossard and Jorginho answer our Question of the Day before Frimmy goes out and about around Emirates Stadium chatting to supporters, with live commentary coming from Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke once the action gets underway.
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