Arsenal are clashing with Manchester City for their Premier League fixture on Thursday night. This matchup comes right after both side’s meeting for the Carabo Cup final last weekend. Pep Guardiola got the triumph over Arsene Wenger quite convincingly with a 3-0 showing at Wembley.
However, this game is taking place at the Emirates and the Gunners have a chip on their shoulder. Their torrid display found themselves on the bitter end of a loss – a wound which is still fresh.
The entire team was at the end of heavy criticism from fans and pundits alike and this raised questions over the manager’s position with the club. When asked about the situation,
Wenger was quoted, “Honestly, my position is the last worry I have, my focus is to get the team ready for the game.”
Arsenal are stranded in the 6th spot of the Premier League table while Manchester City are breezing through at the top. If they win this fixture they get to extend their lead to 16 points ahead of their bitter rivals, Manchester United.
Pep Guardiola stated, “We are fighting for the most important title of the season by far – the Premier League. We have still to win six games and when you think about Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and our away games like Stoke, who are playing to avoid relegation [it will be hard].”
The former Barcelona manager have already bagged his first trophy as the manager of an English team and is about to win his second in the league. While his ambitions lie in grabbing as many as possible, Wenger is tasked with getting the team back to the Champions League.
Their 2-game losing streak one of those coming against Ostersunds FK in the Europa League was disappointing, to say the least.
Arsenal Team News
Nacho Monreal will miss this clash after picking up a knock in the last match. Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be available who was cup-tied for the final.
Manchester City Team News
Raheem Sterling is still not fit and Fernandinho got injured in the last game. Fabian Delph is serving a three-match suspension.
Benjamin Mendy is a long-time absentee.
Key Men
Aubameyang will have a major hand in breaking up the high City backline with his pace and backdoor runs while Mesut Ozil will go head to head with City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The duo will be the crucial figures in setting up their respective teammates.
Kun Aguero is still in red-hot form after scoring the opener against the Gunners on Sunday.
Predicted Lineups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Kolasinac; Wilshere, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Ramsey; Aubameyang
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Danilo; Gundogan, David Silva, De Bruyne; Sane, Bernardo Silva, Aguero
Odds
Manchester City Win: 5/6
Arsenal Win: 16/5
Draw: 14/5
