Playing Man City away you’ll need all the help you can get and Kevin De Bruyne potentially missing is a big one
Ahead of the game against Manchester City, Arsenal will be without some very key players in that mammoth Encounter, we will be boosted by the return of Declan Rice and Calafiori however will still be missing key players such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mikel Merino, Takehiro Tomiyasu and most especially Martin Odegaard in the squad.
Indeed, these absences will make the already difficult game at the start of the season a very difficult one now with us hoping to climb above them to first place on the log. These injuries (Ødegaard’s especially) will leave us with an even slimmer chance of victory at the Etihad however a potential injury doubt for Man city will boost our chances even further.
This injury doubt being the talismanic Kevin De Bruyne after being taken off at half time in City’s nil nil draw with Inter Milan recently, the Belgian pulled up after coming under a challenge by Yan Sommer in the first half, he did carry on through, but was eventually deemed not fit to complete the match hence his withdrawal at half time. This puts his involvement in the game against us under a cloud of uncertainty which will be good news to anyone of an Arsenal affiliation.
Especially so given the great record he has against us in the league which stands at 12 goal contributions (8 goals and 4 assists) in 15 games, astonishing! Add to that the good relationship he has with Erling Haaland on the pitch then his absence will be a bigger boost to our chances of taking something from that encounter. His absence will hopefully inevitably affect Haaland’s impact on the game and given the scintillating form he’s been on this season; it will be needed.
Arsenal should not be a club depending on others for favours to win, with me also believing that if you want to be the best then you’ll have to simply beat the best. However any form of boost we can get to our chances of winning should be welcomed with open arms especially given the number of absentees we’ll have for that game.
De Bruyne might possibly play or not but if he and Odegaard are both out it might help to us to level the playing field a little bit.
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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In order to beat a mediocre premiership team we need to have one goal in us which is enough to get us the win; Citeh are not such a mediocre side the fact is they’re one of the best teams in football (obviously). So I ask have we got two or more goal threats in our side and I say ‘yes’ we easily have it. Long story short we’ve enough of a threat in this team to go up to the Etihad with confidence – so provided we score 2 at least we will come away with all three points. Why? It’s because not many will score twice against our near-indomitable defence. Far as I see it’s going to be our year. We’ll win 2-nil or 3-2 as we shock citeh and we go and collect all the points. Super Mikel Arteta knows exactly what we need.
That’s confidence for you. Let’s hope you’re right.
If you are, then Arsenal will become the first team since Brentford to win at the Etihad Stadium, which was apparently just before the 2022 World Cup.
i’m very very critical and objective too. Truth is we don’t need to undermine ourselves against the citizens or against any other team for that matter, certainly not any more. So with that said let’s see how things pan out on Sunday. Its not rocket science they’re really good but so are we, right?.
Thanks Bertie.
Well, I think you may be over-estimating the power of posts on this, or any other, fan site. I don’t think they are really going to have an effect one way or the other, are they?
Arsenal is clearly a good team, and we certainly got the best of City over the two EPL games last season. Let’s hope we can break that Brentford record on Sunday.
Thank you, Waal2waal
Gone are the days when I would watch this fixture behind a big chair,
Don’t get me wrong we will have to turn up and fight tooth and nail deep inside enemy territory, but as one pundit boldly claim we are mentality monster, surely that will be tested
With De Bruyne out for City we won’t be able to use Odegaard’s absence, at least, as some sort of reason (excuse?) if things don’t go well on Sunday.
It’s long been a squad, not a best eleven, game so absences for both teams will be a test of their squad strength and depth.
I can’t honestly say that Arsenal’s overall performance against a “tricky” Atalanta side fills me with great confidence for the City game but Arteta may well reshuffle his options again, and hopefully a somewhat different Arsenal will turn up at The Etihad.
Agree.
City have a reliable deputy for KDB in Phil Foden, we don’t have any for Odegaard.
I have been saying it all along that I fear most for an Odegaard injury than for any other player in the Arsenal team.
It’s a bit curious that we sold Smith Rowe for “pure profit” and the failed to replace him.
The only feasible option for me is to have the courage and play Ethan Nwaneri in that role
If ever there’s a moment in this season to step up to the plate guys, well its this Sunday! (talking to you Zinchenko, Jesus and to you too mr Sterling. And of course you as well Mikel Arteta – you all know how citeh go about their skill and craft so there’s no reason why you can’t contribute to stopping their momentum, just saying. These operatives have the experience, resource and wherewithal to influence the win I expect. Moreover if arsenal can go up Anfield an boy them up – on the pitch? then we can go up the other side of the M62 (motorway) to do the same to KDB, to Fodden and to the rest of that lot. Last time I looked Gundoggan doesn’t know whether he wants to be part of Barcelona or continue with the citizens? Surely he’s mind cannot of been in the right place? One minute he’s in the next he’s out then in. It’s yet another reason why we can go there with confidence.