Arsenal must take advantage of important Man City injury

Pep Guardiola has a knack for wackiness, and deploying Bernardo Silva at left-back which saw him match-up one-vs-one against Bukayo Saka certainly registered high on the lunacy spectrum.

Bernardo Silva has proven time and time again what an utterly unique and phenomenal footballer he is, and his brilliance manifested once more in City’s 3-1 victory at the Emirates in February. Sure, it wasn’t his most majestic display, but it was proof that he could quite literally do anything that his manager demands.

Bernardo’s approach to nullifying Saka perhaps wasn’t the most refined, but it was certainly effective before he was booked late on in the first half which led to a rejig of Guardiola’s structure to start the second period. Silva had done his job, and the task was handed over to Nathan Aké.

The Dutchman had long been seen as an outsider at the Etihad, but Aké’s emerged as an instrumental figure for Guardiola in 2022/23. His performances against Saka, first in the FA Cup fourth round and then in the second half of the Premier League meeting in north London, typify why he’s now valued so highly in Manchester.

Arsenal must take advantage of important Man City injury

Aké is an exceptional one-on-one defender thanks to his athleticism, physicality and sound defensive technique. At the Emirates in February, Aké, with the help of Bernardo, limited Saka, who’s made a mockery of so many full-backs this season, to 42 touches (54.4), 22 ball carries (34.5), two shot-creating actions (4.73), one successful take on (from four attempts), and a measly 70.4% pass completion (74%).

The figures in brackets, by the way, indicate Saka’s season average per 90 minutes in the Premier League.

Aké’s performances against one-on-one menace Saka depict just how much he’s developed over the past 12-18 months, and his ability to perform such a demanding role within Guardiola’s set-up, both with and without the ball, means he has to be regarded as one of the very best defenders in the world right now.

That’s what renders his projected absence on Wednesday huge for Arsenal. A hamstring injury picked up in the 1-1 draw with Bayern last week means it’s unlikely that he’ll play in the potential title decider at the Etihad.

It’s a big blow for Guardiola, who could rely on Aké to quieten down Saka while performing his versatile function within his framework. Now, the Spaniard will likely have to turn to Aymeric Laporte to deputise.

While the Spanish international is an excellent defender that excels in possession, it’d be a huge risk to leave him on an island with Saka given his athletic deficiencies. Thus, his presence may force Guardiola to change tack slightly. He might do something weird again, who knows?

However, if Pep retains the same system and merely replaces Aké with Laporte, then Arsenal have to exploit this potential vulnerability as much as possible. Saka has the capacity to tear Laporte apart in open space.

After a difficult couple of weeks which culminated in a crucial penalty miss at West Ham, Saka put the team on his back at times against Southampton on Friday night amid a timely return to form. If Arsenal are to snatch a hugely significant victory against City, then our starboy must have a big game.