Arsenal, currently languishing in 9th place in the Premier League table, will be desperate for a good run of results when the Premier League resumes, but have a tough task as they take on Manchester City on Wednesday.
The Gunners’ will be up against a good attack side, and although their defence did improve under Mikel Arteta, stopping City will take some doing.
Arsenal’s only hope will be Arteta’s deep understanding of City’s style of play and tactics, and possibly any rust from the reigning Champions’ end.
The north London side have a strong attack in place, and City themselves have shown defensive frailties this season, so the away side will have to use their chances on the break.
Arsenal Team News
Arsenal will have all of their players available for the big game at Etihad apart from Callum Chambers and Lucas Torreira, who are recovering from a knee and ankle injury respectively.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs Manchester City
Defence
Bernd Leno is the obvious choice to guard the sticks in the big clash which could be crucial to Arsenal’s momentum for the last stretch of the league.
Hector Bellerin is fit and raring to go, and he will look to trouble the Manchester City defence with his buccaneering forward forays.
David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi could start at the heart of the defence, and they will have to a difficult game and cannot afford to lose their focus when they face one of the best forwards in world football.
Sead Kolasinac should get the nod at left-back with Kieran Tierney on the bench waiting for his opportunity.
Midfield
Arteta could well go with a 4-3-3 formation with Matteo Guendouzi featuring in a central role. Mesut Ozil is likely to operate from the right and Dani Ceballos could be the gaffer’s choice on the left.
These three make a decent combination in the middle of the park, though it remains to be seen which Ozil turns up for the game.
The German will be key if Arsenal are to snatch a win against City as he possesses the right amount of experience and technical ability to unlock the City defence that has been proved to be vulnerable against good attacks.
Attack
Arsenal’s forward line is better than most of the Premier League teams if not the best. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe set to start, the attack is quite capable of breaching City’s defence.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Manchester City
