please log in to view this image English Premier League 18th Dec 2011 KO: 16:00 The Etihad Stadium Arsenal meet Manchester City in this late Afternoon game at the Etihad stadium. Arsenal are on an impressive run of form in the premier league having got a possible 22 points out of 24 in their last 8 league games. The only blip being a home draw against Fulham. Manchester City have set the pace in the league from the start and were unbeaten going into December. But they have suffered their first defeat thanks to a Frank Lampard penalty which saw Chelsea win 2-1 last Monday. Both teams have had contrasting starts in the league and that has seen Arsenal trail City by nine points. But, they have also had different campaigns in the Champions League. Arsenal unlike City have progressed into the last 16, while City finished third behind Bayern and Napoli. Both teams have already met this season. That game was in the League Cup and a late Sergio Aguero winner helped City knock Arsenal out and take City to a semi-final spot on the League Cup. Man City have taken their football to another level this season and Mancini has without a doubt changed his approach regarding the way City play their football. A player like De Jong has seen limited game time because the shackles have been taken off by Mancini. City have scored a staggering 49 goals so far in the league. Sergio Aguero has made an instant impact at City. Aguero arrived at City from Atletico Madrid with a huge transfer fee around his neck. And he has not failed to deliver. He has scored 13 times in all competitions. He has already put one past Arsenal and will be looking to hurt them once more. The standout player for City is without a doubt, David Silva. The Spaniard has weaved his magic all season and creates at will. He has already destroyed Manchester United at their own ground. A display of pure technical skills that will live long in the minds of City fans. Few teams have been able to limit his influence in a game but as shown by Lucas of Liverpool it is possible if you are disciplined enough. Arsenal will no doubt look towards Alex Song to be Silva's shadow for the day. City will have three ex-Arsenal players in their ranks, although they will not be meeting Gael Clichy for the first time since his departure in the summer. The Frenchmen got himself sent off against Chelsea and will miss the game. Kolo Toure is unlikely to play so Samir Nasri will be left to once again line up against his former team. He got off to a great start but has once again failed to sustain any form for a period of time. Because of that he has found himself on the bench a few times. But his talent should never be in doubt and he can do lots of damage if he is on form. Dzeko and Balotelli are both unlikey to play in the same team but have scored 18 league goals between them. City like Arsenal, have ran out of natural left backs so they would probably switch Pablo Zabaleta to the left. Arsenal will go into this game without a single full back and this could be a problem because it means having to play players out of their natural positions. And against a team like City, it’s only going to be a bigger problem. But when you have a player like Thomas Vermaelen, that problem is made to look minor. A remarkable defender who showed that he has no problems with being a full back against Everton. But on the right, Johan Djourou does not make it look as easy. But Arsenal have had a settled front six and have been able to build their creative football with that settled attack. The man that leads the attack is one of the most inform players in world football. And Van Persie will be looking to add to his 15 leagues this season and go closer to beating Alan Shearer’s record of 36 goals in a calendar year. Providing the service will be Walcott and Gervinho on the wings and both have been able creators for Van Persie. On the break this is a front three to be very wary of. Aaron Ramsey will be looking to repeat his performance from the last big game against Chelsea. Arsenal have won their last three away games and should they win a 4th then it will see them all of a sudden just six points behind Man City. And when you consider the state of affairs a few months ago, it will be staggering fact. But this is going to a very tough ask. City with all their skills going forward will be hard to resist so Arsenal will need to defend in numbers and break at speed. This is the standout game of the weekend and one that should not be missed. Teams News: Form Guide: please log in to view this image Three Key Match-ups: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Overall Record: Played: 175 Wins: 89 Draws: 40 Losses: 46 For: 287 Against: 200 GD: 88 Last 6 Meetings: Arsenal 0 - 1 Manchester City (League Cup) Arsenal 0 - 0 Manchester City Manchester City 0 - 3 Arsenal Arsenal 0 - 0 Manchester City Manchester City 3 - 0 Arsenal (League Cup) Manchester City 4 - 2 Arsenal please log in to view this image Mangers Views: Wenger My Team: please log in to view this image Final Score: please log in to view this image
No pressure on us. All the pressure is on City to perform after their latest setback. It should play into our hands. Going to be a tough game although hopefully we can get a positive result against them.
If they play like they did against us and you play on point, you should get a result. I am hoping for a draw or Arsenal win. Good luck goonz
i don't know how we'll do to be honest. we never play defensive, so it will be our usual style of tippy-tappy. problem is man city are pretty good at that too so we will need to be VERY organised at the back. i think the team who passes better on the day will win. we usually don't start of the brightest with our passing, but if we score an early goal I fancy us for the win. if not, i think we are screwed.
I think we are pretty well organised at the back at the moment, notwithstanding the injuries we have, I think the defence deserve a lot of credit. I don't think we play a defensive game, and I don't think we should either. If we try and set up to defend against City, we are just going to invite pressure. I think we need a balanced set up and to attack and defend as a team. That said, I think it's going to be a high scoring game as both sides will be out to win it.
I honestly think that we can win on sunday, especially with us having two centre backs playing at full back we should be able to deal with city aerially. And the key tie will be song vs silva, both players are on fire this season and song especially isn't getting enough praise for his performances. What will be vital though is that we play our own game, we need to focus on keeping that ball because for all man city's good attacking play this season they are are now getting used to having the majority of possession in matches and i think that they can definitely be exploited defensively especially with the pace we have on each wing. It is also important that the full backs really support the wingers and give them options.
