(4-3-3) Vs (4-3-2-1) Gyokeres vs Haland”, Predicted Arsenal line up vs Man city – as Pep Guardiola vows to revenge last season defeat
Arsenal team news vs Man City
The first big miss for Arteta is Bukayo Saka, who is still expected to be out until October. Luckily, the summer signing of Noni Madueke is proving to be an early success, covering for his England counterpart on the right wing.
Another key star could also be missing against Man City, with Martin Odegaard being assessed ahead of the clash. Even if he is passed fit, whether he starts the game will be a big decision for Arteta to make.
Other notable absentees include Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. Ben White is also being assessed and could also miss the game at the weekend.
Arteta will be boosted by the return to fitness of William Saliba though, and will have a tough decision to make when picking his side. Cristhian Mosquera has been in fine form filling in for the French international.
Gunners midfield rotations
The arrival of Martin Zubimendi has injected a new level of fluidity in the Arsenal midfield. The Spanish midfielder is comfortable at all depths/heights on the pitch.
Arsenal usually form a box midfield, with left-back Riccardo Calafiori inverting alongside Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Odegaard. Although the latter has recently been replaced by Mikel Merino due to injury.
The fluidity of this unit allows Arsenal to pull apart opposition pressing schemes, specifically against man-to-man pressing schemes, dragging markers into unwanted zones.
Against Man City, this is likely to be a key trend once more, as Arsenal look to manipulate Pep Guardiola’s new intense press, which has taken shape since their summer arrival of Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp’s ex-assistant.
Eberechi Eze offers another layer to this puzzle. He is starting on the left, with license to drift inside and interchange positions with Calafiori, making it hard for the opposition full-back to stay attached.
As Arteta continues to evolve his Arsenal tactics, the multi-functional group of players he has assembled will be key, as they understand not just their own roles’ demands, but the demands of others too.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Man City
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze.
Kick-off at the Emirates Stadium is at 4:30pm and can be watched on Sky Sports Main Event.
