Arsenal: 4 requirements needed to beat Manchester City

Arsenal face perhaps the biggest test in English football: Manchester City in the Premier League.

Currently sitting fourth in the table, the Gunners have surged in recent weeks to be just seven points behind “title contenders” in Chelsea with a game in hand. Football is a funny old game.

Games against the ‘big boys’ of the competition have been a cause for trepidation in recent years, but with Mikel Arteta’s squad in a good space at the minute, a game against Pep Guardiola’s men is the perfect measuring stick both for the manager and the team.

Sweeping aside the likes of Norwich, Southampton, and Leeds will not make the football world take notice, so all eyes will be on Arsenal when they take to the Emirates pitch to tackle the reigning champions.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: 4 minimum requirements needed from Mikel Arteta’s side to secure Premier League win over Guardiola’s men

City is currently on a ten-game winning streak in the Premier League, during which period they’ve notched 31 goals. Guardiola’s side is a footballing juggernaut: fast, strong, technical, experienced and relentless.

It will be more than just a tough task for Arteta’s young outfit. Furthermore, it’s a side that will not have the presence of its manager on the touchline to help them on their way, with the Spaniard missing Saturday’s game after testing positive for Covid.

Therefore an opportunity presents itself for ‘Airpod Albert’ and his team, in what is often referred to as a ‘free hit’.

But nothing is done and dusted in football. Arsenal are in fine form, especially on home soil, and if they can meet certain requirements they stand the chance of avoiding the biannual hammering. So, what do we want to see from Arsenal against the champions for the first game of 2022?

1. Fight and Determination

More often than not when Arsenal plays one of the big teams in the league they get pushed around. Sometimes it is men against boys: the 8-2 loss to Manchester United in 2011, the 6-0 loss to Chelsea in 2014, and the 5-1 loss to Liverpool in 2014 where the Gunners were 4-0 down inside 20 minutes, just to name a few.

However, this Arsenal side has shown grit and determination unlike the teams before them who rolled over at the first sight of a struggle. The biggest test of their togetherness will come against City.

Not likely to have much of the possession, such is City’s dominance, the team will have to fight and dig in deep if they are to grind out a result. That is the absolute bare minimum, it needn’t be said.

Being at home is a big plus with the Arsenal faithful expected to be in full voice. All fans ask for is that their team shows up, fights for every ball and 50/50 contest, and doesn’t allow a repeat of what happened in the third game of the season. That was a glorified training drill for City.

Continued on next page…