The Gunners will be hosting the English Premier League’s defending champion Manchester City at Emirates Stadium tonight. If Arsenal win against Manchester City, then they will go six points clear at the top of the Premier League table, and to defeat Manchester City, they will have to do at least these three things:
Their defence needs to be block-solid. There will be a battle for possession, so any team that comes in second in that aspect may struggle. Arsenal can go toe-to-toe with City for possession, but as they do so, they will have to be defensively compact. The backline will have to be more solid in their defence line as compared to how they have always been against other teams because Kevin De Bruyne will be bringing crosses.
They may need to be quick and have a game plan for how to counterattack. Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been able to defeat Manchester City this season only due to counter-attacking football, because when it comes to slow football, you can never outsmart Pep Guardiola’s City. The reason why scoring against them using counter-attacking football is easy is because they tend to attack more, leaving gaps at the back, the same way Salah capitalised on Joao Cancelo when he was still playing for Manchester City.
They must be clinical. Nketiah Saka and Martinelli, if he starts, will need to find their shooting boots. Against Manchester City, you need to be so good in front of goal that any chance that presents itself is turned into a goal.
Therefore, if they are to win against Pep Guardiola’s men tonight, they will have to be at their sharpest and most clinical without making any mistakes.
Daniel O
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