Key battles, team news… all you should know about Arsenal vs Man City

The last Premier League game before the October international break will be between Arsenal and Manchester City on Sunday at the 60,704-capacity Emirates stadium in London.

Prior to their first match of the season against Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens, Arsenal is still unbeaten in the Premier League after winning the Community Shield against Manchester City to kick off the 2023–24 campaign.

In a crucial Premier League match on Sunday between the two top clubs from the previous season, Arsenal will have the opportunity to show that they are prepared to advance further in the title fight by hosting Man City.

Last weekend’s 4-0 win against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium rounded off Arsenal’s seven-game unbeaten start to a new Premier League campaign for the first time since 2007/08.

The Gunners appear to be on track to win the EPL as one of just two teams in England’s premier league (W5, D2) this season who have not yet suffered a league defeat (although it’s too soon to declare).

However, Arteta’s team cannot afford to relax, since the two times they have dropped points this season have been at home to 2-2 draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

Another important finding from Arsenal’s well-known home troubles this season is that each of their six league goals conceded thus far have come at home.

Man City, the third-most productive team in the division this season with 17 goals so far, is one of the few team in Europe capable of capitalizing on even the slightest defensive lapse.

The Cityzens started their defending season with a six-game winning streak in an effort to become the first team in Premier League history to win four titles in a row.

Last Saturday, Wolverhampton Wanderers stunned Guardiola’s men at Molineux with a surprising 2-1 victory, putting an abrupt stop to City’s impressive domestic run.

The last time Man City dropped consecutive league away matches was in February, when the second loss ominously occurred in north London, although at the hands of Arsenal’s fiercest rivals Tottenham.

Arsenal vs Man City team news
After limping off during the first half of Arsenal’s loss to Lens in the Champions League, Bukayo Saka is a significant doubt. As Mikel Arteta has been hesitant to start Reiss Nelson on the right wing thus far, Fabio Vieira will likely take his position if he is unable to play.
Leandro Trossard is now fit and available, and Thomas Partey might be a contender after making the bench in France, but Gabriel Martinelli is battling with time for his fitness.

However, Arsenal fans will be extremely grateful that Kevin De Bruyne won’t be playing for the Premier League’s defending champions in this matchup. Regardless of his overall form, the Belgian midfielder has always made it a point to assist in goals against Arsenal each season. For Arsenal, De Bruyne’s absence will be a breath of fresh air.

John Stones, Bernardo Silva, and Mateo Kovacic will return in time for the game, much to Guardiola’s delight. Pep Guardiola must make a decision in the midfield because Rodri is out for Man City while serving the final game of his domestic suspension. In that position versus Leipzig, Rico Lewis excelled and might start with Mateo Kovacic.

Arsenal vs Manchester City : Time and venue
Kick-off date is Sunday 8th October, 2023
Kick-off time is 16:30 (BST)
Venue is Emirates Stadium
Referee is Michael Oliver

Predicted Arsenal starting line-up:

(4-3-3): David Raya; Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey; Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus.

Predicted Manchester City starting line-up:

(4-2-3-1): Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker; John Stones, Mateo Kovacic; Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland.

Arsenal vs Man City prediction
Guardiola has consistently outperformed his apprentice. In the Premier League, Arsenal has yet to defeat Pep Guardiola’s City but given that the Citizens are missing two of their key midfield players in Rodri and De Bruyne, this could be Arteta’s chance to earn the first point against Guardiola. However, I’ll stick with a share of the spoils.

Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City

By Chimezie Amos