Man City manager Pep Guardiola will lock horns with his former protégé in an eagerly anticipated Premier League clash on Saturday evening.
Mikel Arteta served as Guardiola’s assistant in their back-to-back title triumphs before leaving to take the reins at Arsenal in December 2019. His impact has been phenomenal. Arteta has toughened Arsenal up, led them to glory in the FA Cup and inspired them to famous victories over Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
A Shaky Start
The picture has not been quite so rosy at The Etihad since Arteta left. City ended up finishing 18 points behind champions Liverpool last term, and then crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Lyon.
They have since made an inauspicious start to the new campaign. It began with a routine 3-1 victory over Wolves, but then they lost 5-2 to Leicester and could only draw 1-1 with Leeds.
Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus have both been injured, leaving Man City a little toothless in attack. Raheem Sterling has led the line, but he pulled out of the England squad with a knock, while City are also sweating on the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne.
A Dynamic Attack
Arsenal have three wins out of four so far this season, and they sit five points above Guardiola’s men in the table. They have scored eight times and conceded four. Arteta has plenty of attacking options at his disposal, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe, Willian and Eddie Nketiah all shining sporadically.
They should have enough quality to unlock a Man City defence that has already shipped seven goals in just three league games. However, their defensive frailties mean they are unlikely to keep Man City at bay for 90 minutes, regardless of any injury concerns.
Pick: Both teams to score and under 5.5 goals
Stake: One Unit
