Arsenal: 4 things we want to see vs Manchester City

Arsenal host Manchester City in the Premier League for the first game of 2022, and does anyone really give them any chance of winning?

One can be hopeful based on the performances of Arsenal in recent matches. It’s now five wins on the spin, including four in the Premier League, during which time they’ve scored 19 goals. A very entertaining return.

Improvements in the balance of the team and the way Arsenal press from the front have contributed to the recent mini-run, and Mikel Arteta is probably enjoying what he’s seeing more than at any stage of his tenure.

But it’s Manchester City.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: 4 things we want to see from the Gunners in Saturday’s Premier League clash between Arteta & Guardiola’s sides

No matter how improved the Gunners may be of late, or how confident they are as a team over recent performances, the bottom line is they’re playing the best team in the country, and quite possibly all of Europe.

The reigning champions are on course to repeat their feat as they sit top of the division ahead of Liverpool losing Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations, and they’ll be seeing Saturday’s match as one more step on their path to silverware.

It’s just unavoidable how exceptional they are: no team has conceded fewer goals than them this season and no side can beat their goal tally so far.

Whatever the circumstances may be, this is always a dreadfully tough task. Five successive defeats to the Citizens without scoring a single goal has been the chain of events for Arsenal, so we’re going to have to see something special to end that run.

1. The Same Starting Lineup

Of course, this is dependent on who is available. Covid cases and injuries will impact who the manager can select in his team, but on the basis that he has near enough the same crop who blew away Norwich at Carrow Road, then there is no need to change.

With a right-back crisis hitting the club it will have to be Benjamin White filling in for Takehiro Tomiyasu, and while his strong performance against Norwich shouldn’t be a barometer for how well he’ll perform against City, he is the most suited profile to fill in at right-back.

The standout absentee will be Emile Smith Rowe, who can count himself desperately unfortunate not to be starting matches. Quite literally doing all he possibly can do to be involved, the fact he’s been so lethal off the bench might actually, in some peculiar way, be working against him.

It boils down to consistency and efficiency. What the team has produced with this front four is greater intensity in the high press, movement off the ball, and highly technical interplay. There will come a time where Smith Rowe is brought back into the fold, but for the moment there is no great urgency to change matters.

With the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final not until five days later, the calls for change are reduced even further. This formula is working and is their best going at present. You need your ‘best’ everything to get anything from City.

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