Before the match, most of the pressure will be on Arsenal, not Manchester City. The "Gunners" are a challenger team, having finished second in the Premier League twice in a row behind Pep Guardiola's team. And after the first 4 rounds of the new season, The Gunners once again had to play the role of chasing. In general, Arsenal have not won against Man City since the 2014-2015 season.
Last season, Arsenal were widely criticized for trying to hold Man City to a 0-0 draw at the Etihad. This is one of the reasons why The Gunners regrettably lost the championship. And this will be a lesson when Arsenal travel to Man City's home ground this season.
In fact, Arsenal should be sympathized when they have to compete with Man City, who won the championship with 91 points last season. That score is even more surprising as Man City have lost 4 points after 2 matches against Arsenal.
What really cost Arsenal is that they don't have as many resources as Guardiola's team. To be fair, the "Gunners" have risen to a higher level when they increased from 84 points to 89 points last season.
That is the progress of Arteta's team as they seek to maximize every detail as thoroughly as possible. And they will have to take this one more time, in the absence of playmaker Martin Odegaard. What will be more interesting is Arteta's arrangement of the attack. Will Gabriel Jesus or Kai Havertz be chosen? This creates a contrast with Man City, as Guardiola's entire squad is built around Erling Haaland.
Is it a positive for Arsenal that the Norwegian's incredible scoring streak ended against Inter Milan in the Champions League? Or is it a bad sign that Haaland will now be more hungry for goals? Notably, Haaland has yet to score against Arsenal's centre-back Gabriel and William Saliba in three games.
That comes from the way the duo have developed together, but also from Arteta reshaping the team around a solid defence. Arsenal are even more unlikely to concede than last season, with only 1 goal conceded in 5 matches.
Arteta has reason to continue to play calculatingly against Man City, especially in the context of the lack of a key player like Odegaard. This will become even more obvious if Man City's Kevin de Bruyne is also absent. Therefore, this match could be boring due to the tactical calculations of both coaches.
It would even be a surprise if Arsenal took the initiative to attack without Odegaard. It must be admitted that it was a bigger problem than expected, even if Arteta persisted in removing it. They lack creative players and it is too early for successors like Ethan Nwaneri to step up.
This match will also be affected by the 115 financial allegations that Man City are facing. Arsenal could lose this weekend but the situation will change quickly if Man City lose the lawsuit in April next year. Of course, the Citizens are still maintaining their innocence.
