Arsenal welcome Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium for a top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Wednesday night.
The Gunners played out a controversial 1-1 draw against Brentford last weekend and they are now just three points ahead of Man City with a game in hand.
Hence, tomorrow’s encounter is hugely important. They must pick up a positive result against Man City. A defeat would see the holders go top on goal difference.
We anticipate manager Mikel Arteta to make at least two changes.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Aaron Ramsdale has been ever-present in goal for the Gunners in the Premier League this term and he is expected to start. The England star should have been better with his decision-making for Brentford’s equaliser. He has the chance to make amends tomorrow with a clean sheet.
In defence, there could be a solitary change. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are pretty much guaranteed starters at the heart of the backline. The same can be said for Oleksandr Zinchenko in the left-back position.
Ben White has also been an undisputed starter at right-back, but Arteta could drop him to the bench on the back of his underwhelming performances lately. He lost possession on 19 occasions against Brentford.
In our opinion, Takehiro Tomiyasu should replace the England international at right-back tomorrow.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have been automatic choices in midfield for Arteta. The duo are the best pairing at the manager’s disposal and we don’t see any change happening against the Cityzens.
Partey produced a superb individual display when City visited the Emirates Stadium back in January 2022.
Hopefully, the Ghanaian can deliver a similarly dominant performance for the Gunners, who are aiming to end a dreadful 10-match losing streak against the Cityzens in the English top-flight.
Further forward, Bukayo Saka is expected to start on the right wing. The club graduate was not at his best against Brentford, but still made the difference with an assist for Leandro Trossard’s goal.
Martin Odegaard should likewise start in the number 10 position, but we anticipate Gabriel Martinelli to be dropped. The Brazilian failed to win any of his eight duels against Brentford last weekend.
He could be replaced by Trossard on the left wing. The Belgian looked lively and dangerous in his cameo against Brentford where he scored. He deserves to make his full league debut for the club.
Up front, it should be Eddie Nketiah once again. Arteta has resisted the temptation to play Martinelli up front in recent weeks and we don’t see that happening in the injury absence of Gabriel Jesus.
Nketiah has proved many doubters wrong with key goals since the World Cup. He will be hoping to return to scoring ways after drawing blank in the last three outings for the north London giants.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs Man City
Stats from Transfermarkt.com and Sofascore.com
