Mikel Arteta and his squad will still be hurting from last seasons disappointment that saw us throw away the best opportunity to win the title in almost 20 years. Man City proved too strong in the end as injuries and a loss of form at the key stage of the campaign cost Arsenal dear and we had to settle for finishing second. The Gunners will be looking to go one better this season and win our first league title since 2004, but City are once again the team to beat.
Arsenal have made an unbeaten start to the 2023/24 campaign with five wins and two draws. Perhaps the biggest concern is that we’ve dropped our four points at home. The 2-2 draw at the Emirates against Fulham was hugely frustrating as Arsenal should easily have won that game, but a late Palhinha strike salvaged a point for the 10-men Cottagers. Arsenal also threw away the lead twice to draw 2-2 with Tottenham in the North London Derby last month. Basic individual errors cost us in both those games, so Arteta will be determined to cut out the silly mistakes when Man City come to the capital on Sunday.
The Gunners were hugely impressive last time out in the Premier League as we thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Ben White all got on the scoresheet to send Arsenal joint second in the table. We’re now just one point behind Man City following their shock defeat away to Wolves, so we could leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s men with victory this weekend.
However, while things are going reasonably well in the league, Arsenal come into the City game off the back of a nightmare display in the Champions League. Having beaten PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in our Group B opening, Arsenal were looking to take control of the group with a win in Lens on Tuesday. We took the lead through Gabriel Jesus but Lens made a stunning comeback to win 2-1 to consign Arsenal to their first defeat in all competitions this season.
It was a poor second half display in France, and Arteta will be demanding a much improved performance against City. If we play like we did against Lens, the Cityzens will blow us away at the Emirates on Sunday.influential playmaker Kevin de Bruyne as he’s been ruled out for several months with a serious thigh injury. Rodri is also set to miss the trip to Arsenal due to suspension after being sent off against Wolves.
Likely Line-ups
If Saka isn’t fit to start, Eddie Nketiah is likely to come into the Arsenal side while Trossard should keep his place with Martinelli unlikely to be fit. Ben White should be recalled at right-back with Takehiro Tomiyasu making way.
Mateo Kovacic and John Stones are likely to start in midfield in the absence of Rodri. Alvarez could support Erling Haaland in attack with Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish also getting starts for City.
Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Ødegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.
Possible Man City XI: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Walker, Kovacic, Stones, Silva, Grealish; Alvarez, Haaland.
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