4 ways Arsenal have evolved into Manchester City and can now take them down

Arsenal have followed a similar plan to Manchester City in recent years

The Gunners now arguably represent the Champions' greatest threat

Mikel Arteta is well placed to end his mentor's domestic dominance this season
Manchester City v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Manchester City v Arsenal FC - Premier League / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
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3. Managing squad minutes

Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal FC v Brentford FC - Premier League / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages

Even when afflicted with one of the “thinnest squads in the league” (really?), Arteta has still channelled his inner Pep this season, exploring different options and- bar a few exceptions- being careful to manage individual workloads.   

No player has played every minute of every match across all competitions (although William Saliba comes close), and injuries/early Champions League progression have allowed (forced?) the boss to rotate his team at various points, a luxury from which Guardiola himself often benefits in the final, laborious weeks of the campaign (explains their astonishing end-of-season form).

And while strong cup runs à la City would be preferable, early eliminations and an extended winter break saw Arsenal gain ample recovery time over a typically hectic Christmas period, indicating there is now less risk of injury when giving 90 minutes to key men.

We only have two competitions left, so tiredness should not be an issue in the coming months.

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