MANCHESTER CITY v ARSENAL
Saturday 3pm, City of Manchester Stadium
Manchester City have been making waves around the world this summer by spending money like a mini Real Madrid. The gamble in assembling these highly paid stars has so far paid dividends. They are unbeaten this season and are joint-third in the Premier League. Perhaps the biggest gamble the megarich owners have taken this year has been their faith in manager Mark Hughes. No silverware by season’s end will Hughes terminate his association with City, but that’s a topic for another day.
One of the major talking points about this fixture will be Adebayor facing his former team mates. It is true that Adebayor has been in good form so far this season and he is relishing the prospect of proving to Gooners and Arsene Wenger that he was good enough to remain at the Emirates. Defender Toure will also be facing his former team mates and will also have a point to prove.
This will be City’s first major test of the season and will be one of the most interesting matches of the season so far. Top four contenders City will be on a mission to prove their doubters wrong and to gain three valuable points against on the established top four teams. Arsenal have a point to prove themselves. They played fantastically well against Manchester United before the international break and should have returned to London with three points. They will be adamant they won’t return from Manchester this time empty handed.
Whether City can handle the pressure of challenging for the title remains to be seen. They are assembling a very strong squad, but there are a few weak links to be repaired before they can genuinely maintain a steady flow of points. Arsenal on the other hand, are already established in the top echelon of the Premier League and despite being written off by almost everybody before the start of the season.
Both teams have impressed me this season. City have been playing with buckets of confidence, almost to the point of playing with a certain swagger about them. Stephen Ireland is a key player for them. He is instrumental in his creativity, is a real threat going forward, and is difficult to mark. Arsenal have been their usual self — playing attractive, flowing football. They have found scoring goals quite easy and although they have leaked a few goals, they appear to have a very solid squad.
MANCHESTER CITY
The potential absence of Tevez and Robinho following their World Cup qualifying matches in South America are a definite blow to City’s chances of beating Arsenal. Without those two, City will be relying on Adebayor as the main threat up front. Elsewhere, City will be solid and compact and should give a good account of themselves. Toure has been appointed City’s captain due to the sale of Richard Dunne.
ARSENAL
The Gunners have a couple of injury worries to deal with. Arshavin, Walcott, Nasri and Djourou are all out, but a major plus is that captain Fabregas is back.Rosicky played for the Czech Republic midweek so he’s in with a shout of returning to action.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Since 2000, Arsenal have beaten City in this fixture six times out of eight meetings. City have won the other two clashes, including a 3-0 victory last season. The pitches of both these teams home grounds appear to be very similar – plenty of wide open spaces to encourage nice passing football.
VERDICT
A case can be made for both teams to win this fixture. Man City have much to prove in this game, their first against a big four team since spending the GDP of a small nation on new players. They will be psyched up for this game and will not want to lose. Arsenal will also be psyched up for this clash, and will be hoping to show these upstarts that they are a long way off breaking into the top four clubs in the Premier League. City should have the quality to hold Arsenal all over the pitch but their attack will struggle against a tidy Gunners’ defence. It will be a tight affair, and one that will probably see both sides cancel each other out.
As with other Arsenal games this season, I’m plumping for Van Persie to score. He’s gone way too long without scoring and must be due a goal.
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Man City/Arsenal DRAW 12/5 BETFAIR
Van Persie to score anytime 11/5 available
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