This weekend’s Premier League action will be dominated by a clash of the titans as Manchester City and Arsenal, the top two teams from the previous season, square off in a match that is already at the top of the standings.
After goalless draws against Italian opponents in the Champions League, both heavyweights are back in action domestically. Inter Milan held the Citizens, while the Gunners needed further heroics from David Raya to pull a point away from Atalanta BC.
A little more than a year ago, the unstoppable Rodri defeated the Nerazzurri to lead Man City to their long-awaited Champions League victory. However, Inter’s defensive prowess proved to be too much for even the omnipotent fulcrum and the previously unstoppable Erling Haaland to handle in midweek.
In fact, Man City’s most recent attempt to win the Champions League began goallessly against their 2023 opponents, who also profited from the Premier League champions’ carelessness, especially in the air, when Ilkay Gundogan wasted a fantastic aerial opportunity.
The hosts’ flawless start to 2024–25 ended abruptly with the draw with Simone Inzaghi’s team, but they are still undefeated in the Premier League after their most recent Erling Haaland-inspired comeback against Brentford last weekend.
With just four games remaining, Haaland has already scored an incredible nine goals this season, breaking the previous record held by Wayne Rooney. Having turned down a compassionate leave offer following the death of a close friend, Haaland responded to Yoane Wissa’s early opener in typical Haaland fashion to keep City two points clear at the top.
The Citizens could now become the first team in English football history to win each of their first five games of the season in five different campaigns. It’s unfortunate for some that their winning streak in the top flight now stands at a stunning 13 games. However, there’s no prizes for figuring out who they last lost points to.
Arsenal suffered the same fate as their Premier League title rivals, Man City, twenty-four hours earlier when they were held goalless by an Italian squad wearing black and blue. However, Mikel Arteta’s team was once again beholden to Raya and his incredible athleticism.
It was one thing to properly guess Mateo Retegui’s penalty and another, as the Gunners left Bergamo with a respectable Champions League point in the bag, to promptly bounce back and claw the Italian’s headed rebound off the line.
Though Arteta’s team without Martin Odegaard never really looked like scoring themselves, Robbie Savage and Arteta both gushed over one of the “best saves” they had ever seen at the Gewiss Stadium. Arsenal’s point against a team that tore apart Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen should not be taken lightly.
Similarly, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, everything remained unchanged until the most recent Nicolas Jover set-piece masterpiece concluded with Gabriel Magalhaes giving Arsenal the bragging rights over the North London derby and maintaining their lead over Newcastle United on goal differential.
With a recent penchant for hard-fought away performances, Arsenal has the opportunity to create Premier League history on the road by becoming the first team to win 12 straight road games in the tournament without trailing, having won their previous 11 away games.
Not since January 2015 under Arsene Wenger have the Gunners left the Etihad as winners. Arteta’s team put on a characteristically tenacious performance to hold Man City goalless at the Etihad in Easter. Earlier, a deflected Gabriel Martinelli winner broke their Citizens curse in a 1-0 Emirates victory.
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Jesus, Trossard are some possible starting positions for Arsenal.
