Arsenal Vs Manchester City: How to stop Sergio Aguero

Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday afternoon as the Premier League gets underway once again. And they are facing a fully in-form Sergio Aguero. Is there a way to stop the best natural goalscorer in the Premier League?

It is one of the biggest games of the club’s recent history. Not since 1996 has Arsenal had a different manager standing on the touchline in a competitive fixture than Arsene Wenger. And now, 22 years later, change has finally come and a new era begins. And what a way for the new era to begin.

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The Gunners, who toiled to a sixth-place finish last year and find themselves further behind their title rivals than ever before in the Premier League era, host the champions, Manchester City, arguably the greatest team in the history of the very era that Wenger deemed to dominate.

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And in welcoming City to the Emirates, Arsenal also welcome one of the greatest strikers in the Premier League era, perhaps the most natural, clinical goalscorer of his generation, Sergio Aguero. The Argentine quickly put to right the tumultuous wrongs of a turbulent, tempestuous World Cup, scoring two lovely goals against Chelsea in last weekend’s Community Shield. It begs the question, how do you actually stop the 200-plus goal, Manchester City monster?

It’s not an easy question to answer. In 14 games against Arsenal in all competitions, Aguero has scored eight goals. In three games against them last season, he scored twice, including the opening goal in the EFL Cup final as he eased Shkodran Mustafi under a booted goal kick to race through on goal and loop his finish into a gaping net. He has routinely caused great pain when playing against Wenger’s sides. His movement, the speed of thought, the ruthlessness of his finishing. Sleep for just a second and the ball is in the back of the net.

Asking the question of how to stop that seems like a futile one. How do you stop that? Well, perhaps the answer is that you don’t. As Chelsea found out last weekend, if you allow Aguero the service from midfield, space and time in the penalty and opportunities to get shots off on goal, he will score. Lots.

So perhaps the best way to stop him is not to focus on Aguero at all, but rather try to shut down the service into him from the midfield. Even the best strikers in the world need good passes into their feet, accurate through-balls in behind the defence, fizzing crosses to latch onto in the six-yard box. They may be the ones that put the ball in the back of the net, but they need the opportunities to do so. They can’t create them on their own.

This, I believe, is where Arsenal may be able to slow down the relentless progress of Aguero, if they can do so at all. By pressing the City midfielders, by closing down Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane in wide areas, by putting the back four under pressure and trying the force turnovers high up the pitch, Aguero can be isolated from the rest of his team.

It’s not easy. Pep Guardiola’s team is one of the best in the world. They the best that I have ever seen in this country, including the Invincibles. But Unai Emery needs to be brave. It may be the only way to stop one Sergio Aguero.