Important events
Here is Mikel Arteta’s opinion on today’s game
We all know we need a strong performance to beat them. We want to improve in certain areas, but to do that we need to be much, much better. We’ve discussed that very openly. But the opportunities have to be created because the process has to be good.
Jonathan Wilson looks back at the 0-0 draw in March
There is no clear answer to that, of course. Had Arsenal opened up, it would have given City a chance, lifted them above Arsenal and everyone would have condemned Arteta for his hubris. It’s not a question of right and wrong, but in hindsight, and given that at the time of the Arsenal game, City had not won any of their eight games against teams that would finish in the top six, was that perhaps a missed opportunity?
“Morning and breakfast greetings from California”, writes Mary Waltz. “Yes, it’s far too early to say, but isn’t it a must for Arsenal, purely from a confidence point of view, to win to show that they are on the same level as City?”
Erm, wouldn’t a draw be a must too? I don’t think it’s a must for either team, although it’s probably more important for Arsenal not to lose.
Pep Guardiola on Rico Lewis (who he left out today)
If you ask a player, “What’s your position?” he’ll tell you, “I play defensive midfield. I play wing. I play this.” Rico plays football. If you put him in a position, he knows exactly what to do. He’s so intelligent… I’ve been coaching for 14, 15 years and I’ve coached incredible players. To find someone like him in the reserves is one of the best I’ve ever coached.
Personnel: Calafiori starts
Both coaches have tinkered around a bit. Pep Guardiola brings in Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Jeremy Doku for Rico Lewis, the injured Kevin De Bruyne and the uninjured Jack Grealish.
Riccardo Calafiori will make his debut for Arsenal, probably at left-back, while Ben White is on the bench due to a minor injury. Jurrien Timber is likely to move to the right-back position. Leandro Trossard will replace Gabriel Jesus in attack.
Manchester City (possible 4-1-2-3) Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, Gundogan; Savinho, Haaland, documentary.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Kovacic, Grealish, Nunes, Foden, Lewis, McAtee.
Arsenal (possible 4-2-4-0) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, White, Lewis-Skelly, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Sterling, Jesus.
referee Michael Oliver.
preamble
Usually you can judge the health of a league by its biggest rivalry. Think AC Milan vs Napoli in the late 1980s, Man Utd vs Arsenal at the turn of the century and Barcelona vs Real Madrid when Pep and Jose were in charge. Manchester City vs Arsenal doesn’t quite fall into that category and probably never will, but it would make a worthy Champions League final and that’s a very good starting point for any football-based clash.
This is the third season of a rivalry that began when Arsenal knocked Liverpool off the spot reserved for City’s biggest challengers. City offered Arsenal a brutal introduction to life at the top level, beating them home and away in 2022/23, but last season Cole Palmer in the Community Shield was the only City player to score against Arsenal.
The two league games were low-key and relatively uneventful. Gabriel Martinelli’s last-minute goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at the Emirates; the return match in March ended 0-0 in both name and nature, so I had to seriously check whether or not I had live-blogged it.
History has shown that Arsenal needed to win this game, even though they were ahead of City in the table at the time. Paradoxically, most people today think a draw would be fine, even though they are behind City. Different stage of the season, different context, different Erling Haaland.
One thing hasn’t changed. City versus Arsenal is the biggest game in the biggest league in the world. And that makes it pretty, pretty big.
Start 16:30 o’clock.
