How Arsenal can beat Manchester City without Saka or Martinelli

2. Defensive solidity and quality

In defence, it seems likely that Mikel Arteta will pick the defence that did so well for him last season: Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Maghaeles and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Erling Haaland is obviously a threat anytime he steps up on the pitch, but things haven’t been clicking quite as well this season, and he’ll be up against a centre-back pair that will be relishing the duel.

Craig Ballon Dawson showed in the Wolves game that it is possible to lock up Haaland. His performance was honestly one for the ages, and Saliba and Gabriel will know what they need to do thanks to the English defender.

Zinchenko picks himself, and he will be there to aid the midfield battle. With Rice and Partey alongside him, he should see plenty of the ball in the middle of the park. If those three can find the forwards between the lines, Arsenal will be able to inflict damage on the City backline.

Then, Takehiro Tomiyasu may be preferred to Ben White, but that would be a massive mistake, in my opinion. Jeremy Doku has shown his one-v-one ability this season, breezing past defenders with ease. That is probably White’s biggest weakness, so it may seem surprising that I recommend White so strongly.

However, Tomi was poor against Lens, and White offers so much outside of the defensive right-back requirements. He slots in beautifully as a third centre-back, and no matter who the right winger is, he is necessary to unlock the best version of Martin Odegaard possible with his overlapping runs.

Arteta has tried to build a defensive fortress, and it should be full strength for the City game. Too often, individual errors lead to goals conceded by the Gunners. Avoid that, and there should be very few attacking chances for Haaland and Co.

Continued on the next slide…