Premier League Mikel Arteta Arsenal EPL
Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Arsenal might have picked up a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend but then they stumbled in midweek, as Atalanta held them to a 0-0 draw in the Champions League.

Now, the Gunners will have to quickly refocus their attention on the Premier League because, on Sunday, Mikel Arteta will take his boys to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.

City are sitting at the top of the table with a 100% win record while Arsenal are just two points behind them but if they cannot win at the weekend, the gap will widen to five points. Last season, Arsenal remained undefeated vs City in the EPL but to repeat that feat will require a lot of hard work.

Arsenal’s team news and injuries:

The biggest positive for Arsenal is that Declan Rice has served his one-match ban and will now be available to play on Sunday. Rice will come straight into midfield alongside Jorginho and Thomas Partey.

Jorginho and Partey will be the two deep-lying midfielders while Rice gets to play in a more advanced. Mikel Arteta is expected to go without a proper No. 10 because the manager has confirmed that Martin Odegaard’s injury is serious and he will be out of action for some time.

Kai Havertz operated in the attacking midfielder’s role last weekend however, against Manchester City, the German international will lead the line.

The Arsenal manager revealed in midweek: “After everything was scanned, they showed there was some damage, especially in one of the ligaments in the ankle so we’re going to miss him.

“I don’t want to [put a timeframe on it] because I am not a doctor but it is something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while – hopefully not months but let’s see.”

Gabriel Jesus got a rare start against Atalanta but the Brazilian was really underwhelming and he will go straight back to the bench.

Both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka started in midweek and the pair will once again start against Man City.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is also missing with an injury but Jurrien Timber has done superbly at left-back. The Netherlands international was majorly influential against Spurs and Arteta will be hoping that he can have the same impact at the Etihad Stadium.

Riccardo Calafiori recovered from his injury and the summer signing got to play around 30 minutes as a sub in Europe. He will once again get a watching brief against MCFC.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Man City:

Predicted Starting Lineup(4-3-3): Raya; Gabriel, Ben White, Timber, Saliba; Partey, Jorginho, Declan Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Man City - EPL 24/25