WATCH LIVE : Arsenal VS Man City (Premier League)

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta is not going about giving clear indications about his plans, and it is anybody’s guess which players he would choose in several positions.

Given Arsenal do not have a clear bill of health, there are chances for some surprises in the lineup, including playing Havertz up front, something he did during the Community Shield game. The big update was about Saka, who hobbled off in midweek with a suspected hamstring problem.

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Gareth Southgate has named him in his England squad, which tends to suggest the injury is not serious. And Arteta has insisted that Saka is in contention for Sunday.

Then there is Thomas Partey, who was sidelined for slightly over a month but has been training since Monday. Arteta will know the need to have a fiery midfield setup and may look to start the Ghanaian alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

That leaves his choices for the front three a bit complicated. Assuming Saka starts, and with Gabriel Martinelli missing, Arteta might end up choosing Gabriel Jesus to play wide left and Eddie Nketiah to lead the line.

Alternatively, Leandro Trossard is also an option on the left, but the manager might prefer the first plan.

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Arsenal Lineup (4-3-3)

David Raya B.White W.Saliba Gabriel O.Zinchenko M.Ødegaard Jorginho D.Rice G.Jesus E.Nketiah L.Trossard

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola must tinker with his lineup and make the correct call for a game of this magnitude. Last week, he got his midfield setup wrong and might look to bring Kalvin Phillips into the mix against Arsenal, with Rodri still missing through suspension.

Kevin De Bruyne is still out of the picture, Guardiola has insisted John Stones is not in contention for the weekend despite making the bench against Leipzig.

Bernardo Silva started in midweek, but there are doubts he is ready to take the pitch right from the off against Arsenal. Manchester City do have plenty of options that could consign Silva to the bench for the time being.

Jeremy Doku has impressed, while Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez are hitting good form. Erling Haaland has not been getting on the scoresheet with the regularity of last season, but Guardiola does not look too concerned about it.

At the back, Guardiola will continue to place the trust in Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias. Josko Gvardiol could play in that left-back role where Nathan Ake started against Wolves.

Man United Lineup (4-2-3-1)

Ederson, B Silva M.Kovačić R.Lewis, J.Gvardiol, N. Aké R.Dias, K.Walker, E.Haaland P.Foden, J.Álvarez.

Key Stats

Arsenal are undefeated in their last eight matches in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta has beaten 23 of the 24 teams he has faced as a manager in the Premier League, failing to record a victory only against Manchester City, losing all seven meetings.

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Arsenal have lost their last 12 league games in a row against Manchester City – their worst run of defeats against any single opponent in their history.

Manchester City won just one of their away games against the teams who finished in the top nine in the Premier League in 2022/23.

Since the start of last season, Erling Haaland has scored more goals (44) than Chelsea (43) in the Premier League.

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