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Arsenal faces Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in a crucial Premier League encounter.
The Gunners came from behind to beat West Ham 1-3 in their last Premier League game, registering their first victory under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg. They also drew with Standard Liege 2-2 in their last group match in the Europa League.
On the other hand, Manchester City would look to fight back after their 1-2 home defeat against rivals Manchester United in their last league match. Since then, they have decimated Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 in a Champions League encounter.
However, City still trails league leaders Liverpool by 14 points, and that difference could prove to be insurmountable in the end. Still, Pep Guardiola would want to earn a resounding win over Arsenal to keep the pressure on Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Arsenal would like to get at least a point from the match to continue their push for a top 4 place. In this article, we take a look at 3 factors to watch out for in Sunday’s match.
#3 The battle between experience and youth in the midfield
Both sets of midfielders are in stark contrast with regards to the overall quality and experience. Manchester City has some of the best midfielders in the world, consisting of players like David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez, all of whom have won multiple titles in their respective careers.
On the other hand, Arsenal has a collection of youngsters like Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Joe Willock, who are yet to prove themselves consistently at the top level. They would look to veteran Mesut Ozil for inspiration, but it cannot be denied that the midfield battle remains extremely lop-sided on paper.
Moreover, City also has players like Rodri and Bernardo Silva in their line-up, and those two would provide the much-needed vigour in their midfield. Arsenal is missing players like Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe, and it wouldn't be easy to fill the void.
#2 Arsenal’s starting XI
It would be interesting to see whether Freddie Ljungberg decides to start both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, as it would mean that Aubameyang would have to play as the right-winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
It would also mean that Arsenal’s best player would play out of his favoured position. It has to be remembered in this context that Aubameyang had started as the lone forward in Arsenal’s 1-3 away win over West Ham.
On the other hand, Lacazette has scored 6 goals in 13 matches in the ongoing season, and most of those goals have been scored at the Emirates Stadium. Moreover, Nicolas Pepe’s injury should allow Lacazette to find his way into the starting eleven.
However, Bukayo Saka performed wonderfully against Standard Liege and should be in the reckoning too. It remains to be seen whether Ljungberg decides to play two young strikers in the form of Gabriel Martinelli and Saka, dropping Lacazette from the starting eleven.
#1 The recent form of Gabriel Jesus
The 22-year-old has scored 5 goals in the last 3 matches for City, including a hattrick against Dinamo Zagreb, and would be gunning for more glory against the Gunners.
The Brazilian striker has become a regular starter in the absence of Sergio Aguero and would look to add to his tally of 55 goals in 121 matches for Manchester City. He showed exceptional composure inside the opposition penalty box against Dinamo Zagreb, so Arsenal should be wary of him.
Gabriel Jesus would fancy his chances against a relatively inexperienced central defence pairing of Callum Chambers and Sokratis Papastathopoulos and would relish crosses from either wing. The likes of Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, and Benjamin Mendy should be able to provide those vital crosses into the Arsenal penalty box.
Jesus should also expect deft through balls from the likes of David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, and it could turn out to be a goal-fest for City.
