A titanic title tussle awaits on Sunday (4.30pm UK) as we head to Manchester City seeking to preserve or improve our lead on the prime of the desk in opposition to our nearest challengers.
We head to the Etihad Stadium with a six-point cushion and unbeaten in our final 5 Premier League conferences in opposition to Pep Guardiola’s aspect, which promisingly features a pair of attracts from our final two visits to the blue half of Manchester.
Four weeks on from our Carabao Cup closing defeat by the hands of City, we’ll be seeking to precise revenge and full per week to recollect by reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, and probably taking an enormous leap in the direction of lifting our first league title in 22 years.
CITY CLOSING GAP
After final weekend’s 3-0 success in opposition to Chelsea, City shall be eyeing the prospect to maneuver degree on factors with us on the prime by the point we’re subsequent in league motion, as they’ve a rearranged fixture at Burnley on Wednesday attributable to their FA Cup commitments.
Guardiola’s staff have misplaced simply one in all their final 19 Premier League video games, and are unbeaten of their final 9, their joint-longest unbeaten streak of the marketing campaign. However attracts have stalled their progress at instances, having stuttered at house in opposition to Nottingham Forest final month earlier than leaving West Ham United with a solitary level.
But their three video games since have seen them defeat us at Wembley, thrash Liverpool 4-0 within the FA Cup quarter-final after which cruise to victory at Stamford Bridge, easing the ache of exiting the Champions League on the spherical of 16 stage by the hands of Real Madrid as soon as once more.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Arteta: “We have earned the suitable to be on this place, to be difficult and with the chance to win and the chance to win on Sunday, arguably in opposition to one of the best staff and one of the best supervisor that this league has ever seen. That’s an enormous privilege, and we can not wait to play the sport.
“We’re going to organize the sport to win it, that is for positive, and we see that as a giant alternative for us. We’re not going to spend one second speaking about that [drawing]. We put together each sport to win, that is the place we’re and we’ll proceed to do the identical.”
Guardiola: “If we lose, it’s over. But the opposite two outcomes, realizing that Arsenal did not win in opposition to Bournemouth, we nonetheless have video games to play. Six video games is quite a bit, given our calendar particularly.
“I said today to the players, it is just a football game and we have to approach it like a football game. If you get distracted by emotions, that is how you lose focus. What is the target? It is to perform well and that is exactly what you have got to do and all the aspects required to challenge a team like Arsenal.”
TEAM NEWS
After he was compelled off throughout Wednesday evening’s draw in opposition to Sporting Lisbon, Noni Madueke will proceed to be assessed earlier than the sport, with Mikel hoping it would not be too critical. The identical goes for Riccardo Calafoiri, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber who’re all edging nearer to returns.
However Bukayo Saka is certainly out together with his Achilles damage, and joins Mikel Merino on the absentee listing.
Ruben Dias stays out of the sport with the hamstring problem that prompted him to overlook the Carabao Cup closing assembly, nonetheless Nico O’Reilly is obtainable regardless of being subbed off in opposition to Chelsea on Sunday after feeling a difficulty with the identical muscle.
Josko Gvardiol additionally stays sidelined as he recovers from a fractured leg, whereas John Stones sustained a calf problem on England obligation final month and hasn’t featured since.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke: Guardiola’s choice to modify from 4-1-3-2 to 4-2-3-1 within the Carabao Cup closing was a sensible name that unlocked City’s attacking excellence. Deploying Jeremy Doku broad on the left, with Antoine Semenyo hugging the other touchline, there was better width to their play, releasing up central pockets of area for No.10 Rayan Cherki and permitting full-backs Nico O’Reilly and Matheus Nunes to underlap.
Cherki is the person in kind, and given freedom to roam, the France worldwide is nearly unimaginable to man-mark, so we should shut down his area as a collective. If you give Cherki area to search for and play a move, he’ll harm you, whereas he has additionally made six assists from ball carries.
Guardiola’s four-man defensive display screen once we tried to play out from the again at Wembley was a ploy we by no means actually obtained to grips with, so sooner restarts, enjoying via the primary line of defence, or clipping passes over them could possibly be fruitful. Passes excessive and counters are typically the simplest methods to open City up, who squeeze up and commit our bodies ahead, so we must be quick and environment friendly on transitions.
We can not go gung-ho, however sharp, progressive passes will trigger them points. Out of possession, we should observe runners with the utmost focus, and the place doable, disrupt City’s move by getting tight to them inside our half.
FACTS AND STATS
We have misplaced simply two of our final 30 away Premier League video games (W16 D12), going unbeaten in our final eight since a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa in December.
Man City are unbeaten of their final 14 Premier League house video games, since dropping 2-0 in opposition to Tottenham of their opening match on the Etihad this time period.
City have did not win every of their final three Premier League video games in opposition to groups beginning the day prime of the desk, failing to attain in all three matches (0-0 v us in March 2024 and 0-2 house/away in opposition to Liverpool final season).
When making an allowance for their closing six video games in a Premier League season (MD33 onwards), we have now gained 9 of our final 12 matches, with our solely defeat coming at house to Bournemouth final season.
Since the beginning of February, no City participant has scored extra objectives in all competitions than Nico O’Reilly (6), who netted each objectives of their 2-0 League Cup closing win over us final month.
Rayan Cherki is averaging an help each 138 minutes within the Premier League this season (10 assists in 1,384 minutes). Of gamers to play 1,000+ minutes in a single marketing campaign, solely Cesc Fabregas in 2016/17 (111) and Kevin De Bruyne in 2023/24 (123) have had a greater common.
Eberechi Eze has both scored (2) or assisted (1) a purpose in every of his final three appearances in opposition to City in all competitions, establishing Gabriel Martinelli’s Ninetieth-minute equaliser within the reverse fixture.
Erling Haaland has had a hand in seven objectives throughout his seven Premier League appearances in opposition to us (5 objectives, 2 assists), netting in every of his final three in opposition to the Gunners.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Anthony Taylor has been handed management of this sport, the fourth time he has refereed us this season, which has seen us beat Fulham, take a degree at Chelsea, and the final being the goalless draw in opposition to Liverpool in January. We are unbeaten on the final 11 events he has refereed us going again to May 2023, a run that features a 0-0 draw on the Etihad Stadium two years in the past.
The Cheshire official has overseen three City video games this time period, together with each Manchester derbies which introduced a win and a loss, plus a victory over Bournemouth – one in all solely two wins from the final six that Taylor has been in control of.
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Ian Hussin
Fourth official: Paul Tierney
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt
RECENT VISITS TO CITY
Despite not profitable on the Etihad since January 2015, when a Santi Cazorla penalty and an Olivier Giroud header took all three factors, the final two seasons have seen us come away with a degree.
In September 2024 a Calafiori wondergoal cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener, and after Gabriel headed us in entrance, Leandro Trossard was controversially despatched off on the stroke of half-time. We practically held on for the win, just for Stones to equalise in second-half stoppage time.
A 0-0 draw the earlier March ended a run of eight defeats in a row in all competitions, with a 1-0 FA Cup fourth-round exit adopted by a 4-1 defeat through the again finish of the 2022/23 marketing campaign. We have gained on the Etihad seven instances because it was opened in 2004, though 5 of these got here in our first six visits earlier than the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.
LIVE COVERAGE
Tune into Live From N5 on The Arsenal app (obtain now on iOS/Android) simply earlier than kick-off to listen to stay commentary of the sport supplied by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will information you thru all of the motion in case you’re out and about.
You can even discover out which broadcasters are showing the game live wherever you might be on the earth.
Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to make use of quotations from this text is granted topic to applicable credit score being given to www.arsenal.com because the supply.
