Arsenal vs Manchester City: The battles that could decide the contest | OneFootball

Arsenal and Manchester City meet in an early-season showdown with plenty at stake this afternoon.

Both sides have ambitions of becoming Premier League champions this season, and will not want to lose further ground on a Liverpool side with maximum points.

Ahead of their clash in North London, we’ve picked out three individual battles that could decide the contest.

Gabriel vs Erling Haaland

Arguably the biggest matchup of the game and one that has history. Gabriel and Erling Haaland have enjoyed some epic individual duels in recent meetings.

Last season, Haaland memorably threw a ball at the back of Gabriel’s head when City scored a late equaliser at the Etihad. In the return fixture, the Brazilian celebrated in Haaland’s face when Arsenal scored in a 5-1 thrashing of the Blues.

There’s no love lost between the two, while it’s a contest that pits together the Premier League’s best goalscorer against one of the division’s standout defenders. Grab the popcorn.

Declan Rice vs Rodri

Declan Rice has evolved into one of the league’s leading midfielders in recent seasons, though faces his toughest assignment this weekend. Rodri was named winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2024 after inspiring club and country to success, before an ACL injury decimated his 2024/25 campaign.

Now back to fitness, there were signs the Spaniards is getting back to his best during City’s midweek win over Napoli. There will be question marks about a potential third consecutive start in a week and Arsenal will look to expose any signs of fatigue from the recently-returned star.

Rice, who has been given greater licence to get forward since Martin Zubimendi’s arrival, will hope to shut down Rodri’s progression from deep areas and power forward into the box when the opportunity arises.

Viktor Gyokeres vs Ruben Dias

Viktor Gyokeres has made a solid start to his Arsenal career, with three goals in four Premier League appearances. Finding the net in home clashes with Leeds and Nottingham Forest is one thing, but Arsenal will hope the Swedish striker can decide games of this calibre.

There have been some reservations around the 27-year-old’s all-round game and Gyokeres will be keen to prove a point against elite opponents. He memorably netted a hat-trick as Sporting Lisbon thrashed Manchester City in the Champions League last season, so has previous against Pep Guardiola’s side.

Ruben Dias will be tasked with stopping the Swede and will not want to get dragged into the wide left-channel areas Gyokeres likes to exploit.

Read – Arsenal vs Manchester City – Combined XI

See more – 📈 Power Rankings: Barcelona back, Bayern rise

Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok