3 steps to success for Arsenal against Manchester City

For the first time in 22 years, Arsenal will line up for a Premier League fixture without Le Professeur Arsene Wenger in the dugout. Arsene left the Emirates throne having built a wonderful empire.

Arsenal’s search for their next manager ended when Unai Emery ascended to the Emirates throne. Emery has enjoyed a good pre-season with victories over Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Lazio. However, anyone who watches football will tell you that the Premier League is a different cup of tea altogether.

The fixture gods weren’t kind on Emery and handed him the toughest possible opening fixture. Emery and Arsenal have to lay down the red carpet for the defending champions, Manchester City on Sunday.

In the 2017-18 season, Manchester City convincingly won both league games against Arsenal, with their 3-0 thrashing of Arsenal at the Emirates a highlight of their season. Though there is a change at the top for Arsenal, Manchester City still represent a tough proposition.

Through this article, we would look at 3 things that Arsenal need to ace in order to shock the defending champions on the opening weekend and get Emery’s reign off to the best possible start.

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#1 Press with high intensity and co-ordination

Arsenal v SS Lazio - Pre-Season Friendly

Arsene Wenger was not a huge fan of the modern day ‘press’. The type of pressure applied by Arsene’s team was more akin to ‘closing down’ than ‘pressing’. However, Emery takes more joy in ‘pressing’ the opposition than anything else.

In the pre-season games, we could see a marked difference in the way Arsenal approached the games. Though the initial signs were encouraging, Arsenal’s pressing still looks a little undercooked. Against Chelsea, Jorginho and Chelsea were able to beat the press time and again. With this, Chelsea outnumbered the Gunners in midfield and sprang attacks consistently.

Manchester City are another team who like to play out from the back. Arsenal would need to produce a more co-ordinated press if they are to get any joy. Fernandinho would perform a role similar to Jorginho and if Arsenal allow City to evade their press as easily, they would be in real trouble. City have the required firepower to hurt Arsenal and the game could well be lost in a jiffy.

Arsenal showed signs of improvement in the game against Lazio. However, Lazio are not a team who play out from the back. Hence, their shortcomings were not exposed.

Arsenal need to produce the perfect game against City if they are to start off on a winning note. If they are able to pull off the ‘press’ with efficiency, it would go a long way in gaining the upper-hand against Manchester City.

#2 Track the opposition fullbacks

Ozil needs to track back against Manchester City

A major portion of the game would be played out on the flanks. Arsenal need to keep the opposition’s wide men at bay if they are to emerge victorious.

Manchester City are expected to start with Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy as fullbacks. Both of them have the pace to burn and are attacking fullbacks by nature. With the fullbacks stretching the game, City’s midfield gets more space in the middle of the park.

Arsenal would most likely line up in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1 with two of Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan and Ozil occupying the wings. Over the course of the last decade, Arsenal have had problems in defending the wider areas of the pitch and that is mainly due to their wingers’ non-inclination to track back.

Against City, each of their wingers has to put in a shift and not let the opposition fullbacks go on their frequent adventures forward. Though Ozil and Mkhitaryan’s defensive work rate has often left a lot to be desired, Arsenal can’t afford them to switch off for even a single moment.

A major factor in determining the outcome of the game would be how Arsenal are able to contain City’s marauding full backs. If they are able to stave off their attacking threat and exploit the space they leave behind, they could well be on their way to an opening weekend win.

#3 Move the ball quicker

Xhaka will have to guard against the close attention of City's midfield

Arsene Wenger liked his team to keep hold of the ball for as long as possible. While this tired teams out, Arsenal were sometimes guilty of over-doing it and their play seemed pedestrian. Though Emery also likes to keep hold of the ball, he adopts a more direct approach while attacking.

Arsenal signed Aubameyang in January and he hit the ground running, scoring 10 goals in 13 Premier League appearances for the Gunners. Aubameyang is one of the quickest players in the world. In the game against City, he would be up against either of Kompany, Laporte and Stones. While all of them are excellent defenders, none of them possesses the pace of Aubameyang. Hence, it would be essential for Arsenal to play to Aubameyang’s strengths and release the ball quicker.

Manchester City also like to play with a high line. A high line would surely leave some space in behind and if Ozil or Xhaka can release Aubameyang into that space, he can wreak havoc.

Arsenal would also need to make a quicker transition from defence to attack. City will press Arsenal and try to induce mistakes. Torreira and Xhaka should play one-touch passes to play around the press and release their attacking midfielders. If Xhaka and Torreira are unable to do so, they would endure a fate similar to that of Jorginho and Chelsea.

If Arsenal are to lay down their marker for the season, they need to move the ball quicker, be it in the defensive third or the attacking third. With less than a week, Emery would hope his troops can come up with an impeccable performance against City.