Analysing Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash | OneFootball

An in-depth look at our opponents this weekend…

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In a game that needs little introduction, we welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium in a 16:30 (UK) kick-off on Sunday 19 April.

We sit six points back from them at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand, so there’s no doubting this is a crucial meeting.

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This game marks the latest in a season that we’ve come up against the leaders since 2011/12, when we beat Manchester United on the way to our first ever Premier League title.

With the help of Opta data, we take a look at who we’ll be facing…

Recent form

Arsenal top of the Premier League with 70 points from 32 games.

Of their last five games, they’ve won four. However, the defeat did come in last weekend’s home clash with Bournemouth, losing 2-1 to the Cherries.

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Outside of the league, they recently lost to Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals and reached the Champions League final four with a 1-0 aggregate win over Sporting CP.

That’s all come since we beat them in the Carabao Cup final at the end of last month.

Preferred lineup

Arsenal have tended to favour a 4-2-3-1 for much of their time under Mikel Arteta.

David Raya is the undisputed first choice goalkeeper, having played every Premier League game so far.

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Jurrien Timber is the right-back, with William Saliba and Gabriel in the middle of defence. Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Piero Hincapie have shared duties on the left of the defence.

Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are the heart of the midfield, with Eberechi Eze or Martin Odegaard in the space ahead of them.

Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres are often the front three, with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke in reserve.

Manager

Mikel Arteta is now the second longest serving manager at his current club in the Premier League behind our very own Pep Guardiola.

This is his seventh campaign at Arsenal having left his role as Pep’s assistant in December 2019 to take over at the club he once played at.

He’s overseen 242 Premier League games at the Gunners, winning 144 of them.

That means his win percentage of 59.5% is only behind Pep’s 71% for managers who have done at least a season.

Whereas Guardiola averages almost 2.4 goals per game in the Premier League, Arteta’s is at 1.9 – suggesting his side aren’t as attacking as we have been in recent years.

Head-to-head record

We are unbeaten in our last 10 Premier League home games against Arsenal, winning seven and drawing three, since a 2-0 loss in January 2015 under Manuel Pellegrini.

The overall picture in the Premier League era isn’t quite as rosy for us, given Arsenal were one of the division’s best sides during a leaner period for the Blues.

In the 57 meetings since the Premier League rebrand in 1992, we’ve won 19 and lost 25, scoring 75 and conceding 82.

We’ve already played each other twice this season, drawing 1-1 in north London in the league before a 2-0 victory at Wembley just a few weeks ago.

How they attack

Arsenal’s 62 goals so far is the second most in the league, only one behind City although we have played a game fewer.

Both sides are back from Chelsea when it comes to xG, with City creating 57.5 worth of goals so far and Arsenal on 55.

It’s no secret that we’ll need to be wary of Arsenal’s threat from set pieces. They have scored the most dead ball goals (25) and more headers than anyone else, with 14.

16 of their 25 set play goals have come from corners and they tend to score from one in every 12 corners they take.

With 17 different goalscorers, no other team has spread the goals around as much as them.

Gyokeres is the top scorer with 12, while Saka and Eze are next on six each.

As for assists, Trossard, Timber, Odegaard and Rice are the key contributors with five each.

How they defend

Arsenal tend to press hard at the top of the pitch, winning possession back in the final third 155 times so far this season, which is the most of all 20 sides.

It works on the whole, with the 24 goals conceded the best in the league so far.

They’ve also allowed the fewest shots on their goal and have let in the least set plays of any team.

With only 41 yellow cards – the least in the division – and no red cards, they are exceptionally disciplined too.

David Raya’s saves 68% of the shots on his goal, which sees him ninth of all goalkeepers to feature in the top-flight this year.

Be at City’s FA Cup semi-final!

Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Blues are on the hunt for yet more silverware under Wembley’s famous arch.

We return to the national stadium on Saturday 25 April in a 17:15 (UK) kick-off for our FA Cup semi-final with Southampton.

And Members can be there with prices starting from £30 for adults and £20 for U18s and over 65s.

As we’ve seen with other recent Wembley visits, it’s an occasion not to be missed!

Get your tickets now!