Arsenal vs Manchester City: 3 key battles that could decide top-of-the-table clash

Arsenal face their toughest and most important fixture yet on Wednesday night: Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side are breathing down the neck of the Gunners and are applying greater pressure with each passing week. This is the match where they can overtake.

Arsenal head into the contest with a disappointing one point from a possible six from their last two matches. The attacking fluidity we have seen in abundance from the league leaders has fallen flat. Teams have set up well defensively to smother the Gunners’ flame, but City are different, they are going to attack.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: 3 key battles that could decide top-of-the-table clash

This means that there are going to be key battles all over the pitch – and off of it too. Here are the three key battles that may decide Wednesday’s top-of-the-table clash.

Battle #1 – Bukayo Saka vs Nathan Ake

If Arsenal are going to get a result against the Premier League champions, there is no doubt that Bukayo Saka will play a huge part. The 21-year-old has been terrorising full-backs with his stellar one-vs-one ability, but Ake provides a challenge that Saka will have to relish.

Saka and Ake went up against it earlier this month in the FA Cup, and it was the Dutchman who came out on top. Ake scored the only goal of the game that knocked Arsenal out of the competition. This time, Saka will need to operate wide to stretch the City defence in order to create room in the middle for his team.

Most recently, teams have been doubling up against Saka to eliminate any attacking output the England international can offer. Saka, who scored first in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Man City last season, will want to isolate Ake one-on-one to enable him to be direct in his attack.

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