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Premier League leaders Arsenal will welcome second-placed Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday (February 15) night in a game that could define the course of the title race.
Pep Guardiola will lead his troops into battle on enemy turf tonight. His former apprentice Mikel Arteta's side have threatened to dethrone City and the battle at the Emirates is expected to have a huge impact on proceedings.
The Gunners currently have 51 points and the Cityzens trail them by three, but the leaders have a game in hand over their Wednesday opponents. They have a great chance to restore a six-point lead at the top with a win. However, things won't be anywhere close to being straightforward for them.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five reasons why Arsenal will lose to Manchester City tonight.
#5 Arsenal are in their worst run of this season so far
When Arsenal squared off against Manchester City a couple of weeks ago in the fourth round of the FA Cup, they had a lot more momentum. In fact, they were fancied to get the better of Guardiola's side. However, City just about managed to thwart the Gunners and ran away with a 1-0 win.
Arteta's side came into that game on the back of successive wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the league. In stark contrast, they head into Wednesday night's game on the back of a three-game winless streak.
Since that 1-0 loss to City in the FA Cup, the Gunners have fallen to Everton and drawn with Brentford.
#4 Arsenal frontline in poor form as they take on City
Arsenal have been a freescoring side for the majority of the ongoing season so far. However, they have struggled to replicate those levels in recent weeks. Arteta's men have scored just one goal in their last three games in all competitions.
To make matters worse, City are a side that the Gunners have found extremely difficult to break down. They have scored just two goals in their last nine Premier League games against the Citizens.
Arsenal would have wanted a lot more wind in their sails to fancy their chances of battering Manchester City.
#3 Recent record hints at a Manchester City win
Arsenal have found little joy in their recent fixtures against Manchester City. The Cityzens have proven to be an unconquerable side to Arteta's men. Let's take a look at a few telling pieces of statistics.
City have won their last 10 Premier League games against Arsenal. They have also won all of their last six away games against the Gunners in all competitions. Mikel Arteta is yet to win against Pep Guardiola in the league.
It all points towards yet another Manchester City win as the two teams prepare for battle tonight.
#2 Manchester City have better bench strength
Manchester City's bench strength is incredible. Whether or not they breached 100 financial rules to get there won't matter on Wednesday as they hit the road to take on the Gunners. City's bench strength gives them the edge especially in the second half of games.
If Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland Haaland and Jack Grealish start against Arsenal in attack, Guardiola can still call upon Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden. They also have Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Kalvin Phillips and Cole Palmer as options in midfield.
Mikel Arteta's side do not have this luxury.
Emile Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson have returned to training. However, Arteta has said that the trio are not yet ready to contribute to the first team (via Football London). Mohamed Elneny is yet another absentee.
#1 Manchester City have experience when it comes to the title race
Arsenal have a history of failing to make the most of their chances to win the Premier League title. They have been in very similar situations in the past.
In the 2002-03 season, they were leading the league by eight points in early March, but ultimately lost the title to Manchester United. They also experienced a similar scenario in the 2007-08 season, where they led the league from September to March but failed to win the title.
More recently, the Gunners were in a good position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League last season. With three games left, they held a four-point lead over rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
However, they lost the North London derby to Spurs 3-0, followed by a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United, and ended up finishing fifth in the league, two points behind Spurs.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have won the Premier League title four times in the last five seasons. Liverpool were able to force the title race right down to the wire twice in those four seasons and City emerged as champions by a point in the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons.
Guardiola's side are way more experienced when it comes to handling the title race and big matches such as the one on Wednesday night. That puts them in a better position to squeeze out a positive result at the Emirates.
