Arsenal suffered a shock Champions League defeat to Lens in midweek but they won’t have any time to react because on Sunday, they welcome Manchester City in the EPL.
City are the current Premier League leaders while the Gunners are third, just one point behind MCFC so Sunday’s home game will be really important for Mikel Arteta and his boys. A win for the home side will dethrone
Arsenal are undefeated in their last eight EPL matches and they are currently one of two teams who are yet to lose a league match this season. However, all that could change very easily this weekend because Arsenal do not have a great record against MCFC.
This one will be an evenly balanced contest and even though the bookmakers will be putting their money on Man City to win on Sunday it’s a home game for Arsenal so if they pick up three points, it won’t be a surprise at all.
Arsenal’s team news and injuries:
Jurrien Timber remains out for almost the whole of the season but Arsenal seemed to have coped nicely with the summer signing’s absence. For the first couple of matches Timber was playing on the right-hand side and after his injury, Ben White has retained his spot in the starting line up.
David Raya has more or less claimed the No. 1 spot in the Arsenal side so he will start in goal with Gabriel and William Saliba playing as the two central defenders.
Fabio Vieira will be pushing for a place in the side but we think Mikel Arteta will put his faith in Kai Havertz to play as the third midfielder. Havertz was underwhelming in the Lens game but the Arsenal manager will rely on the German instead of Vieira.
If Martinelli’s absence was not enough then Bukayo Saka is the latest entry into the injury list after he was forced off with a knock during the Lens game.
Bukayo Saka picked up a hamstring issue as he tried to backheel the ball but thankfully his injury is not serious as his manager has claimed that the winger is in contention to play on Sunday.
Arteta told the press: “He is in contention, we’ll see how he progresses from here to Sunday. Obviously, he had to leave the pitch [against RC Lens], that’s never good news, but let’s see how he recovers.”
The fact that Saka is not seriously injured is a big boost for Mikel Arteta but we doubt if the Arsenal boss will risk using a less than 100% fit player against a team like Manchester City.
Arsenal have a capable player like Leandro Trossard in their squad so it makes no sense to use Bukayo Saka and risk aggravating the injury. We think Trossard will play out on the left while Gabriel Jesus operates on the right wing.
Arsenal predicted line up vs Man City:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): David Raya; Zinchenko, Gabriel, William Saliba; Havertz/Vieira; Declan Rice, Odegaard; Jesus, Trossard, Nketiah.
