Key events
Jonathan Wilson reflects on that 0-0 draw in March
There is, of course, no definitive answer. Had Arsenal opened up, that might have handed a chance to City, lifted them above Arsenal and had everybody condemning Arteta for his hubris. It’s not a case of right and wrong but, with hindsight, and given that at the time of the Arsenal game, City hadn’t won any of eight matches against the sides who would finish in the top six, might that have been an opportunity missed?
“Morning and breakfast greetings from California,” writes Mary Waltz. “Yes, its way too early to say this, but just from a confidence standpoint isn’t it a must win for Arsenal to show they are on the same level as City?”
Erm, wouldn’t a draw do that? I don’t think it’s a must-anything for either team, although it’s probably more important for Arsenal that they don’t lose.
Pep Guardiola on Rico Lewis (who he has left out today)
You ask any player: ‘What is your position?’ And they say: ‘I play holding midfielder. I play winger. I play that.’ Rico plays football. If you put him in one position, he knows exactly what he has to do. He’s so intelligent… I’ve been a manager for 14, 15 years, training unbelievable players. To find one like him in the pockets, he is one of the best I’ve ever trained.
Team news: Calafiori starts
Both managers have had a bit of a tinker. Pep Guardiola brings in Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Jeremy Doku for Rico Lewis, the injured Kevin De Bruyne and the uninjured Jack Grealish.
Riccardo Calafiori makes his full Arsenal debut, probably at left-back, with Ben White only on the bench because of a minor injury. Jurrien Timber should move across to right-back. Leandro Trossard comes in for Gabriel Jesus up front.
Manchester City (possible 4-1-2-3) Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, Gundogan; Savinho, Haaland, Doku.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Kovacic, Grealish, Nunes, Foden, Lewis, McAtee.
Arsenal (possible 4-2-4-0) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, White, Lewis-Skelly, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Sterling, Jesus.
Referee Michael Oliver.
Preamble
You can usually judge the health of a league by its biggest rivalry. Think AC Milan v Napoli in the late 1980s, Man Utd v Arsenal at the turn of the century and Barcelona v Real Madrid when Pep and Jose were in charge. Manchester City v Arsenal isn’t quite in that category, probably never will be, but it would make a worthy Champions League final and that’s a very good starting point for any football-based ding-dong.
This is season three of a rivalry that began when Arsenal knocked Liverpool off the perch reserved for City’s biggest challengers. City gave Arsenal a brutal introduction to life at the highest level, belting them home and away in 2022-23, but last season the only City player to score against Arsenal was Cole Palmer in the Community Shield.
The two league games were cagey and relatively uneventful. Gabriel Martinelli’s late goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at the Emirates; the return game in March was a 0-0 draw in name and nature, so much so that I genuinely had to check whether I’d liveblogged it or not.
History has recorded that Arsenal needed to win that game, even though they were ahead of City in the table at the time. Paradoxically, most people think a draw would be fine today, even though they’re behind City. Different stage of the season, different context, different Erling Haaland.
One thing hasn’t changed. City v Arsenal is the biggest game in the biggest league in the world. And that makes it pr-etty, pr-etty big.
Kick off 4.30pm.