Probable Lineups
4-2-3-1
4-2-3-1
Probable Lineups Statistical Comparison
* Values in brackets (x) are overall player statistics in Premier League.
Missing Players
Man City
Arsenal
Player | Reason | Status | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Vincent Kompany | Out | 7.17 | |
Ilkay Gündogan | Out | 7.04 | |
Sergio Agüero | Out | 7.33 | |
Fernandinho | Out | 7.16 | |
Fabian Delph | Out | 6.56 |
Player | Reason | Status | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Chuba Akpom | Out | N/A | |
Santi Cazorla | Out | 7.06 | |
Mathieu Debuchy | Out | 6.4 | |
Yaya Sanogo | Out | N/A | |
Shkodran Mustafi | Out | 7.33 | |
Per Mertesacker | Out | 6.72 | |
Danny Welbeck | Out | 6.57 | |
Aaron Ramsey | Doubtful | 6.72 |
Team News
Man City
Arsenal
- Ilkay Gündogan suffered knee ligament damage in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Watford in midweek and is expected to be sidelined for a few months. With Fernandinho also suspended, it leaves Pep Guardiola short of genuine central midfielders, with Fernando and Yaya Toure expected to fill in.
- Sergio Aguero still has two matches left on his own four-match suspension. Nolito was played as the central striker against Watford, with Kelechi Iheanacho on the bench, so it remains to be seen how City will line up on Sunday.
- John Stones was rested in the win over Watford but should return to the side here.
- Chuba Akpom, Santi Cazorla, Mathieu Debuchy, Yaya Sanogo and Shkodran Mustafi are still long-term absentees for Arsenal. Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck are back in training but this match should come too soon in their recovery from long-term injuries, while Aaron Ramsey is still a doubt.
- No serious changes are expected in the wake of Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Everton on Tuesday, although Alex Iwobi and Olivier Giroud are pushing for a start here.
De Bruyne`s cross for Sterling was a masterpiece. Reminded me when Silva assisted Dzeko in 1-6 at Old Trafford for the last goal.
Oh and it's a shame that Chamberlain got injured... again. I think a serious review of our training methods needs to take place because this is a chronic problem. Players get injured in sport, of course, but with us it's the same players and I can't believe it's just Sod's law that the type of player Wenger likes is also physically weak. Wilshere is thriving at Bournemouth after being a perennial crock. There is no such thing as coincidence on this scale.
@SteveHyland right - Walcott, Rosicky, Diaby, those players are or were injured most time of their career at Arsenal
Some people below need to learn how to spot the difference between "being dominated" and intentionally sitting. It was clear the tactics Wenger set out and it worked well in the 1st half. We didn't capitalise during the moments in the 1st half when we could break and a lack of concentration at the begin of the 2nd allowed Sane to get through our defence and score a goal you usually see scored against poor teams. After that, it was difficult to change tack against a team like City who, once they get into a rhythm, are hard to dispossess. I don't blame Wenger. Had the players done what was asked, we'd have gone in at HT 2 or 3 up (or at the very worst still be 1-0 after 75 minutes etc) and job nearly done but individual carelessness, some naivety and a lack of composure ruined the game-plan. Xhaka was particularly poor in the most pivotal position, Monreal was terrible, Oezil was quiet & Iwobi always looked stuck in two minds. A bad day (and week) for us, but not a definitive one.
I don't think we would have won had Cazorla played but we were definitely missing his skillset. Our close quarters passing and skills got all jumbled when city pressed in the second half. Even if Cazorla gets healthy again, he's got one or two years left at the top level. We have so sort this out and him being injured is no excuse. I sure liked how we looked after Giroud came on for Coq. Wenger should have planned this as a balls to the wall goal fest, Xhaka as the only CM and a boat load of attackers. With city's suspect back line, it would have been an interesting gambit.
@Bellerin- Xhaka is being moulded as his replacement, partly why he is playing alongside Coquelin, but he doesn't have the close-quarters passing ability of Cazorla which is so integral to getting out of danger quickly when you sit back. Xhaka is a better long-passer than short and I think the difference between having him in the team and Santi is huge in a game like this. IN retrospect, a shoot-out may have worked given their defence looked so bad every time we attacked in the first half but I think it's more individual players error than a tactical one.
De Bruyne was magic as usual with Sterling being very lively indeed throughout. Sané overall didn't have a fantastic game but had some good moments.
@MSNism He plays completely differently than in the national team or at Schalke. I guess that is an order from Pep or a lack of self confidence but I have never seen him passing back so many balls to the defenders. Usually he is being looked for and when he receives the ball he starts doing something creatively immediately.
Well done City! They always seem to find their better football in the 2nd half...
Brilliant from city, a well deserved win
@KlaasJanHuntelaar great tactic from PEP. total domination and total pressing ..All the game was around the Arsenal's final third.. City need urgently 1 rightback and 1 defender. Yaya was brilliant and controled every thing..
what did I say! Thank you De Bruyne. Thank you City.
If Aguero played it could have been 4-1 or 5-1
@excalibur stupid comment as What4 has proven
@excalibur And if Mustafi and Cazorla had played, if my aunt was my uncle, if pigs could fly....
0.0 for Ozil
lol look at that Ozil rating...
@mIKe9441 Just a normal Ôzil performance if he doesn't score. As usual no dribbles and no assists = invisable
@neumi17 He was dreaming about his salary.. wenger should bench him. There r alot of good players in Arsenal.
Really poor from Arsenal. Lost the ball too many times and no one could pass straight.
@What4 As usual arsenal BOTTLED it.
Arsenal are pathetic. We helped weaken City and we gave them a chance to face City without Aguero and Fernandinho but they still get dominated and punked, lol. Soft as hell
@excalibur Don't talk rubbish please. Arsenal were missing Mustafi and Cazorla. And Fernandinho is nothing special.
@What4 Well, Pep told he would win everything with 3 players like Fernandinho. Would he tell that about "nothing special"?Unless you know something he does not about football.
@What4 Neither is Mustafi, lol. Cazorla? Relying on a 32 year old Spanish national team reject to run your midfield shows how pathetic Arsenal truly is!
@Excalibur- A "national team reject" who has to get past Iniesta (who is one of the best CM of all time) in order to play? Don't be silly. In this game where Xhaka was our worst player, it's clear the addition of Cazorla would've made a huge difference- particularly with THIS game-plan.
@excalibur You do realise Clichy is 31, Kolarov 31, Zabaleta 31, Silva 30, Toure 33, Navas 31, and Sagna 33, right? You brought up City missing Aguero and Fernandinho, as if that makes it easier for Arsenal somehow, and then when I counter that Arsenal were also missing players, you reply that Arsenal is pathetic if they are missing players. And now please remove your foot from your mouth, and see yourself out.
@What4 I think his foot is stuck up something else.
Lol Ozil is such a fraud, yet another disappearance in a big game this season
@bradley.fcb He's a fraud indeed. Just a few weeks ago, Hazard for example went away to City, and even though he knew he won't see a lot of the ball, he kept on running all day and was rewarded at the end. Ozil is weak and never sacrifices himself for the team.
Why did Sane got substituted ?
@neumi17 this young is great he did every thing.. he ran a lot and everywhere so it was time to use another player.
Is Wenger Italian?
Good God Wenger
he beat them with his speed
what do mean by offside sterling is a fast player
two goals from offsides lol
@koziol.mutant no its not
@KlaasJanHuntelaar they were not, козел
nice fix by Wenger, whole 2nd half only defending as if they were some Burnley.....
offside goal, silly
@koziol.mutant which one? koziol?
WS ratings are bad...players get better ratings when they haven't even touched the ball:D.....may just th presence is gd:D
The EPL is crap they said. Pep will dominate they said. It will be easy they said. WRONG! It's the most competitive league in the world!
@RobbieFowler ?
@RobbieFowler pep is a good coach no good player like bayern and barca
@RobbieFowler it's the most competitive and the most interesting to watch because the differences between the teams are smaller compared to other leagues. most teams are at a good level and that means lots of matches are very close affairs, however, it doesn't have the best teams.
@DiM i agree with u
@RobbieFowler No, Macnhester City is not even close to the level of Barça and Bayern. And fyi, "most competitive" it's not the same as "best". Just look at the Champions League where English teams are easy to beat.
@leon i also agree with u
@leon I never said "best". Best is a subjective term. However, Leicester is sitting in 15th but they made the round of 16 this year. EPL is much stronger than you make it out to be. I'm not going to argue which league is best, but there are a lot of top managers in the EPL now and the financial backing is always there.
@RobbieFowler where leicester in champions league
@RobbieFowler The EPL is the best by virtue of being the most competitive. Several teams can win it. The winner in Italy, Germany is already known and Spain is back to being a 2 team competition. The EPL haters might not like to hear it but there's a reason its the most popular league in the world.
@excalibur The points gap between 1st and the rest is actually the same in la Liga and the Premier League. La liga may be a 2 horse race but atm the Prem is a one horse race with Chelsea dominating.
@MSNism But that's not the rule though. Chelsea dominating has to do with Chelsea being very good. Atletico is what made La Liga compelling. Now it's business as usual for Barca and Madrid.
Oh no
genius Guardiola play without striker and with Kolarov as central defender hopefully it will be punished by Arsenal 1-3
@koziol.mutant Yeah, playing Kolarov as CB against Arsenal is very suicidal, but do you really think it would make a difference to play extremely error prone Stones instead of him? Or who would you name in your line up? Even their other natural centre back, Otamendi, doesn't fit to this team.
@Castle Having that players I would try Zabaleta as CD or play like Conte in Chelsea with 3 at the back. However agree even Otamendi makes at least 3 big positional errors each match.
@Castle He bought Stones not me. I would buy another player there knowing Kompany health problems. Thats how his genius works.
@koziol.mutant he's a clown
Each have at least 1 goal so 2-2
Arsenal to score 3 - 0 only if wenger started by giroud as striker and sanchez and Ozil playing next to him will be hard for city to face these three players
Both teams to score.
X2
draw here or narrow win for man city ..pep is a genius when it comes to tactics...it is just that some of his players arent performing or just not the kind of players he wanted ...
@shahsalman If City players are underperforming or if Pep hasn't right kind of players, isn't that an argument for City NOT TO WIN this match? With different players City would surely get better results, but isn't that the case for every team? Pep is an excellent coach but his tactics not only require very best players but certain type of players from very best. A bit more adjusting manager could get better out of this team and without couple of years transition time.
@Castle narrow win for man city here :) , city won 2-1 and they were the better team throughout the game .... that's said ..i dont speak too much to my critics
@shahsalman Well, if you are interested I didn't actually criticize your prediction but your LOGIC. How does the fact that City have wrong type of players point to City win? Purely Pep's tactics then??? City were better and deserved to win, I give you that. But could you explain yourself better? Maybe you should give more attention to people who's opinion differ from yours.
genius who plays Kolarov as central defender hahahahahhahahaha surely
@koziol.mutant narrow win for man city here :) , city won 2-1 and they were the better team throughout the game .... that's said ..i dont speak too much to my critics
@shahsalman- Sagna will never be good as a RCB, Kolarov will never be good away from LW yet genius Pep put them 2 as a back 3 (designed for 2 CBs) along with Stones against Leicester. Does that sound like genius to you? He brought in Bravo who has proved to be an embarrassment. Whether or not City win the league, this season has proved that Pep is anything but a genius. He is, at best, a very good manager like many others in the league.
@SteveHyland narrow win for man city here :) , city won 2-1 and they were the better team throughout the game .... that's said ..i dont speak too much to my critics
@SteveHyland well written. Guardiola is on the level of Pellegrini if not a bit below
@koziol.mutant......no you guys r wrong....pep is the best manger.....pellegrini couldn't of done as well as pep at barca or Munich. Guys, its the premier League......you lot talk as if ever other manager finds it easy in the pl...!!!:p........on the point of kolarov....he got on of the highest rating as a defender at the beginning of the season....thats what genius pep did....pellegrini wouldn't have been able to see that
I think it will be a scoring draw 3-3.
With stats this should end up high scoring, guessing 2-2.
For me it's a simple formula, if Bravo is in goal and either or both Stones and Kolarov playing at center-back, then Arsenal win. And I'll be bold and say a comfortable 3-0.
Both our attack and defence is better than City's, our defence considerably so but home advantage can count for a lot. If we play our natural game then we should win- especially given they are without Aguero. After Leicester's counter-attacking masterclass in their 4-2 win and the fact Pep loves to dominate possession and play a suicidal ultra-high defensive line, I'll be surprised if Wenger doesn't have us sitting back and looking to exploit the space presented to us. With Xhaka being a better long passer than short, Walcott and Chamberlain being very fast, Oezil being able to pass to anybody from anywhere on the pitch and Alexis being, well... Alexis, it would be a good game plan. I just hope we also employ the aggressive pressing tactics Spurs did when the ball found its way into dangerous areas otherwise City will build up a rhythm and that makes scoring if you go a goal down extremely difficult. I'll predict 3-1 Arsenal.
Last match Everton vs Arsenal have shown nothing except Chamberlain's hardworking and Alexis' motivation (freekick goal as a reward). Walkot - totally absent, Ozil - very tired (lazy playing like on a fixed match), defence resting pasively. Nothig shown in the midfield hence in attack .... players without balls (except 3 or 4 of them).
@enxit I think Ozil should not be praised by everybody. On the contrary he should be criticized for not showing enough interest in the game, It is about time he should understand he is not in "another level" and start being a little more humble.
@cani08- The perception of not showing interest in the game is unwarranted. Whether he plays well or badly, his mannerisms are exactly the same on the pitch. His "laziness" is no more or less evident but when he plays well it is not called laziness, it is given a superlative adjective. People expect unrealistic things from him. He is a true modern #10. He creates chances, is the link between CM & the front 3 and gets into scoring positions in the area. This season, with Alexis in the 9, he has created less but scored more (largely to do with spatial crossover within the area behind what would be a traditional #9's position and Mesut's natural one). Ultimately, he IS on another level to every other #10 in world football. If you ask the top players at Real Madrid (Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Kroos and Modric) if they want him, Rodriguez or Isco in the 10, it's clear who they'd choose. They wouldn't expect him to run around like a demon, affecting play in areas he wouldn't naturally inhabit.
@enxit Whereas Man City have been scintillating in every single match?
@What4 Did a say a word about ManCity? Read once again and don't minus my post without reading.
@enxit And which part of "whereas" do you not understand? I was adressing your clearly one-sided and biased comment. Try again, fella.
@What4 Have you seen a word about ManCity in my post? i spoke about Arsenal in the Evarton vs Arsenal match. Read again fella.
2-2 or 3-3, both teams have very strong offenses but weak defenses. That sort of trend is becoming really common with the almost-top and top teams: Barca, Dortmund, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, PSG, Monaco, Lyon, Napoli, etc.
@sarigginsUSA- I wouldn't say Arsenal were 'weak' defensively, with Mustafi at least (granted that doesn't apply here). The reasons being most of the goals we have given away thus far have either been: Consolations; Errors from non-defenders or Penalties (rightly or wrongly given). A weak defence gives away points regularly (either as a result of conceding first/regularly; defensive errors or losing/drawing from a winning position). Take away the opening day loss to Liverpool where Holding and Chambers were our CB pairing and the midweek game against a manager who seems to have the wood over Wenger (regardless of team) and that makes it 2 points dropped from a winning position (the N. London derby) and 7 points gained, with no losses, from a losing position. Both are impossible with a weak defence. I've mentioned before about perception. I highly doubt Pep will view Arsenal as defensively weak, even with Gabriel but I'll be surprised if that isn't exactly how Wenger views City.
@SteveHyland You're quite right; Arsenal have been struggling to keep the clean sheet but that's not the best way to measure team's defense. Koscielny-Mustafi pairing is, in my opinion, one of the most potential in the league and our full backs are one of the best too. Chelsea are playing well and keeping clean sheets, but I don't see their defense any superior to ours. Had City converted their chances, Conte's side would have lost by couple of goals. Our biggest problem lies in midfield as we're not good enough in possession. We are clearly missing Cazorla, although he wasn't always too responsible with the ball.
@SteveHyland True, with Mustafi in the side you guys have looked like genuine title challengers this year.
I go for 0-0
Man City 1 - 1 Arsenal
2-2
City will show reaction. City win. De Bruyne MOTM. My predicted score 3-1