On Sunday, Arsenal will be back to Premier League action as they host table-toppers Manchester City. Arsenal will be back to Emirates after having a 1-1 draw against a poor Benfica side at Rome in the Europa League and tomorrow will be facing Pep’s Manchester City who is having a 17-match unbeaten streak, their latest being a 3-1 win against Ancelotti’s Everton.
Pep Guardiola’s side is having a monstrous form in the Premier League as they are now 17 matches unbeaten in the League and are at the top with 56 points whereas, Arsenal is struggling to be in the top half of the league with just 34 points to their name. Although, Arsenal managed to win against Leeds United, by the way, who were playing without their Talisman Kalvin Philips by a scoreline of 4-2. Their conceding of two goals says a lot about their defense unit and Pep will be very much looking forward to exploiting that defense line.
The Gunners have a pretty bad record against the Citizens in the Premier League as they have not won against them since 2015, which they won by 2-1 at the Emirates. Since then, they have met 14 times across all competitions and Arsenal have managed to win just two of their meeting, both wins coming in the FA cup. They have scored just 4 times against Manchester City and have conceded 22 goals over that period. So, Mikel Arteta will have to come up with his best starting line-up and a strong plan to face a confident and unbeaten Manchester City.
WHEN & WHERE?
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London.
Date: 21st February 2021.
Time: 4:30 PM (GMT)
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
Arsenal will have to put some extraordinary effort in the field if they want to win against a strong Manchester City side which will be in question as there will be fatigue in the camp as they have just returned from Rome, playing against Benfica in the Europa League. For Arsenal, there are no new injuries as such but the risk will be high when playing against City on Sunday as the players have not been rested well before the game and Arteta will not be planning any big changes ahead of the big clash.
Thomas Partey will not be starting in this match too as he is said to be progressing well but won’t make it to this game but is said to be making a comeback to the team ahead of their clash against Benfica in their 2nd leg. The Ghana midfielder has been struggling with a hamstring injury and is not expected back in time to face Pep Guardiola’s side.
Kieran Tierney, who earlier was suffering from muscle soreness and knee problems came off the bench against Benfica in the Europa League and now fans will be expecting him to start for the team tomorrow against the Citizens.
Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will also be starting yet again on Sunday and an in-form Emile Smith Rowe and Bakuyo Saka could be rested for their 2nd leg match against Benfica, which will be played on Thursday.
MANCHESTER CITY TEAM NEWS
The Citizens will be looking to grab another 3 points on Sunday against an exhausted Arsenal side who hasn’t rested well and will be looking to make a stay at the top of the table with their unbeaten streak going to 18 matches.
For Pep Guardiola, there is some good news ahead of their clash against the Gunners as their key player Kevin de Bruyne is now back for injury. Not just that, Sergio Aguero will also be available for tomorrow’s game. This is a bad sign for Arteta as de Bruyne-Aguero’s partnership has been so destructive in the League and is now making Arsenal and Arteta’s job tougher than it they already was.
Adding to that, their key player from the start of this year that is, an in-form Ilkay Gundogan who missed yesterday’s practice sessions due to a groin injury is now looking good to be back on the field. Although there may be very little chance of him starting tomorrow, there will still be a chance of him coming off the bench in-between the match and getting some minutes to play.
The only player who is injured is Nathan Ake. Even if he isn’t a regular starter, it is still a concern for the team.
Arsenal Predicted Line-up against Manchester City:
Brend Leno (GK), Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, David Luiz, Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexander Lacazette.
