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Arsenal: 3 reasons restarting against Manchester City might be good
By Mac Johnson
1. We have nothing to lose
Every time I looked at the Premier League table during the seemingly-endless COVID-break, I rejoiced at our game in hand, before remembering it was against Manchester City, at the Emptyhad. Not exactly a dream scenario if you’re looking to climb the table in normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances.
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A loss keeps us where we are, within three points of the Europa League, and anything better gives us a free leg up in the race for a top-six (maybe even a top-four) spot. It’s not a game we’re expected to win, and we likely won’t, but expectations have a way of being flipped on their heads in situations like this.
As it is, we have even less to lose than we normally would, which gives us a chance to start anew, for good. It’s almost certain that we won’t come out of the gates flying against City, but it’s such an odd scenario that we almost have an advantage. Everyone will be off-kilter, everyone will be rusty, and as a massive underdog, Arsenal truly have nothing to lose.
We can go out there, without the opposing fans on our back, and play our game as we see fit. We’re under no pressure to win, unlike our opponents, who have a lot of ground to make up on league-leaders Liverpool, as well as the impending threat of a UCL ban over their heads. I mean, it can’t get much worse for them, and we can profit off that.
dark. Next. Predicted Starting XI vs Manchester City
Manchester City have defied expectations this season, in all the wrong ways. They’re 25 points behind Liverpool, and have actually lost more games than Arsenal, with 7 losses to our 6. I’m not predicting a win for Arsenal, but the Gunners are poised to make a lot from very little, and I’m very excited to see it happen.