3 key battles that could decide Arsenal’s crucial clash with Man City

3. Zinchenko and Stones: The inverters

Zinchenko has been Arsenal’s secret weapon all season, with his inverting enabling Arsenal to gain greater control in midfield. His ability to receive the ball, turn and pass off either foot in tight spaces has allowed his team to play through the press in a calm, incisive manner.

In the last two months, City have deployed John Stones in the same way, and he looks at ease pinging the ball around the park, playing tika taka football with Rodri, and dropping back into defence when required.

The big advantage Stones has over Zinchenko, and his predecessor Cancelo, is that he is a top-quality defender, and makes City very solid when he drops back. By contrast, Zinchenko can be beaten in one on ones, and Gabriel has to work doubly hard to cover the space he vacates.

But, Zinchenko is a much better mover than Stones, and can thread passes through the eye of a needle, and when the sides met at the Emirates, he was a huge reason why Arsenal controlled the possession. This could be a huge battle in terms of retention and one that could ultimately be decided on discipline and composure.

On their day, Arsenal can beat anyone, but if they are going to come away from the Etihad with a result, they need to cut out the individual errors. If they persist, City could run riot.