Manchester City vs Arsenal: 3 key battles

Arsene Wenger talks to Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger

The two Premier League juggernauts lock horns this weekend, and we analyse the three duels which will settle the highly anticipated encounter.

1. Aaron Ramsey vs Fernandinho

The two anchor men have been pivotal to the two clubs’ early season rise, and also tend to control everything in their defensive half. It is not hard to tell that Fernandinho is the better player, but Ramsey’s blistering start to the season means that he can compete with the former Shakhtar Donetsk man when it comes to naming the Premier League’s best midfielder.

Whoever can outmuscle the other, and also get forward and track back properly will win this duel, and will point their team in the right direction to take all 3 points.

2. David Silva vs Mesut Ozil

The Premier League’s two best attacking midfielders will meet each other at the Etihad on Sunday, and expectations will be high. It is expected that the Spain international will be in high spirits after orchestrating a win away to Bayern Munich, which is a much more intimidating encounter than hosting Arsenal, but if Mesut Ozil can bring his best, there is every chance that he will outshine the former Valencia man.

Ozil was bullied into submission by the terrific Napoli defence on Wednesday, and if Manuel Pellegrini was watching, he will know exactly how to deal with the former Real Madrid man this weekend. Whoever can play the final pass to the greatest to create a vital chance or provide a moment of brilliance to steal the crowd will win this duel, and will probably win the game.

3. Manuel Pellegrini vs Arsene Wenger

While Arsene Wenger is inarguably the best coach in the Premier League right now, Pellegrini is a close second. His outings with Malaga in the Champions League earned him the Manchester City job, as the Spanish minnows were 20 seconds away from the Champions League semi-finals, and if Borussia Dortmund’s third goal was rightly ruled offside as it should have been, they would have made it. Wenger doesn’t have a lot of experience against fellow Premier League teams that deploy a European style, but City have a much stronger and deeper squad than the gunners.

Mix that with City’s sensational home form, which has seen them thrash Manchester United 4-1 and annihilate Tottenham Hotspur 6-0. The French tactician surely has his work cut out for him, and must mastermind an almost perfect game plan to come away with anything more than a heavy loss. But we know just how good Arsene Wenger is, and he may be capable of producing a huge upset to confirm the Gunners’ status as title favourites.

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