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Recommended bets
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Match preview
It doesn’t get much bigger than this: 119 days later than original scheduled, the Premier League’s top two go head-to-head in North London.
Arsenal do kick off in first place, a position they’ve occupied since 20 August, but have lost momentum at a very inopportune moment.
At the weekend, the Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford, despite taking the lead through Leandro Trossard.
The Bees equalised just eight minutes later, a goal that was incorrectly given, with VAR missing a blatant offside.
Of course, Arsenal supporters are rightly furious about this but, on the balance of play, Brentford were very much deserving of the point they earned.
This is the first time all season Mikel Arteta’s team have failed to win back-to-back league games, beaten 1-0 at Everton the week before.
Manchester City meantime steamrollered Aston Villa on Sunday, with Rodri, İlkay Gündoğan and Riyāḍ Maḥrez all on target in a rampant first half.
Pep Guardiola’s team were beaten at Tottenham the week before, meaning they’ve won just one of six away games against sides currently 12th or higher, this a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Nevertheless, the Citizens have won their last ten Premier League matches against Arsenal, and eliminated them from the FA Cup less than three weeks ago.
The last time Man City lost at the Emirates, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud were the scorers, while Mathieu Flamini, Joel Campbell, Eliaquim Mangala and Wilfried Bony all featured.
So, will the champions return to the top of the table after 180 days away, or will Arsenal reaffirm their title credentials with a victory that would be famous and crucial in equal measure?
Arsenal team news
Mikel Arteta has named the exact same starting XI in all six Premier League games since the World Cup, and you can bet your bottom dollar that team will be deployed here too.
Oleksandr Zinchenko will face the side he made 128 appearances for, having become crucial to Arsenal’s whole system from left-back.
Thomas Partey went off with a rub injury at the Etihad 19 days ago, but is fit for this clash.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Leandro Trossard may be rotated in at Villa Park on Saturday, and could play key roles from the bench here.
Neither Emile Smith Rowe nor Reiss Nelson were on the bench at the weekend, with the latter closer to a return.
Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Ødegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah.
Manchester City team news
Man City’s team is far harder to predict.
Erling Braut Håland went off at half time against Aston Villa but, given that they were 3-0, this was surely only a precaution, with the Norwegian likely to lead the line once again.
Pep Guardiola decided there was no need to field a left-back on Sunday, so it’ll be interesting to see if 18 year old Rico Lewis returns here.
Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké, who scored against Arsenal in the FA Cup, were both rested against Villa, with both likely to return for this one.
Kevin De Bruyne has scored five times against Arsenal, the joint-most when facing any single opponent.
In contrast, Jack Grealish, who once faced Arsenal in an FA Cup Final as a teenager, has never scored against them in ten attempts.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Akanji, Aké; Rodri, Gündoğan, De Bruyne; Maḥrez, Grealish, Håland.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City: Head to head statistics
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Premier League table
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