Premier League: Manchester City vs Arsenal live
Preview: Manchester City vs Arsenal
Last season’s top two teams, Manchester City and Arsenal, will be facing off in an exciting match at the Etihad stadium on Sunday at 3:30pm GMT. Both teams come into this game after playing goalless draws against Italian teams in the Champions League, Manchester City drew with Inter Milan, while Arsenal secured a point against Atalanta.
Man City’s latest attempt to assert their dominance in Europe began with a goalless draw against the team they faced in the 2023 final. This draw ended the hosts’ perfect start to the 2024-25 season, but they still maintain a flawless record in the Premier League, thanks to Haaland’s impressive comeback performance against Brentford last weekend. Haaland has now scored an incredible nine goals in just four games, breaking Wayne Rooney’s previous record. The Citizens have now won 13 consecutive matches in the league, and they could become the first team in English football history to win their first five games of the season in five different campaigns.
Mikel Arteta’s squad relied on the remarkable skills of Raya, who made an incredible double save to help the Gunners to leave Bergamo with a valuable point in the Champions League. Arsenal’s point against a team that had previously defeated Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen is commendable, but Arteta’s team, lacking Martin Odegaard, struggled to create scoring opportunities. The same was true at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until a well-executed set-piece led to Gabriel Magalhaes securing the North London derby victory for Arsenal, keeping them in second place before Saturday’s results dropped them to fifth.
Head-to-head
In their last five encounters with the Gunners, Man City has secured two victories, while suffering one defeat and drawing two matches. Their latest clash concluded in a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium last season.
Prediction
Given the lackluster performances of both teams in the champions league and the missing players De Bruyne and Odegaard, we expect a boring match on Sunday. While Haaland is performing exceptionally well in domestic matches, Arsenal’s defensive line is arguably among the best in the world at the moment, making another scoreless draw seem probable.