Arsenal face Manchester City in a highly anticipated Premier League match. The Gunners travel to the Etihad Stadium looking to maintain or increase their lead at the top of the table against their nearest challengers.
Arsenal’s Title Ambitions
Arsenal currently have a six-point cushion. They are also unbeaten in their last five Premier League meetings against Pep Guardiola’s side, including two draws from their last two visits to the blue half of Manchester.
Four weeks on from their Carabao Cup final defeat at the hands of City, Arsenal will be looking to exact revenge. They also aim to complete a week to remember by reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, and potentially taking a giant leap towards lifting their first league title in 22 years.
Arteta said they are going to prepare the game to win it. He sees the match as a big opportunity for them. He added that they are not going to spend one second talking about drawing and will continue to prepare every game to win.
Man City’s Perspective
After last weekend’s 3-0 success against Chelsea, City will be eyeing the chance to move level on points with Arsenal at the top by the time they’re next in league action. They have a rearranged fixture at Burnley on Wednesday due to their FA Cup commitments.
Guardiola’s team have lost just one of their last 19 Premier League games, and are unbeaten in their last nine, their joint-longest unbeaten streak of the campaign. However draws have stalled their progress at times, having stuttered at home against Nottingham Forest last month before leaving West Ham United with a solitary point.
But their three games since have seen them defeat Arsenal at Wembley, thrash Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final and then cruise to victory at Stamford Bridge, easing the pain of exiting the Champions League at the round of 16 stage at the hands of Real Madrid once again.
Guardiola’s Mindset
Guardiola said that if they lose, it is over. But the other two results, knowing that Arsenal didn’t win against Bournemouth, mean they still have games to play, adding that six games is a lot, given their calendar especially.
He told his players that it is just a football game and they have to approach it like a football game. He said that if you get distracted by emotions, that is how you lose focus. He asks what the target is. It is to perform well and do all the aspects required to challenge a team like Arsenal.
Team News and Injuries
After he was forced off during Wednesday night’s draw against Sporting Lisbon, Noni Madueke will continue to be assessed before the game. Mikel is hoping it wouldn’t be too serious. The same goes for Riccardo Calafoiri, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber who are all edging closer to returns.
However Bukayo Saka is definitely out with his Achilles injury.
The match promises to be a titanic title tussle. It is scheduled for Sunday at 4.30pm UK time.