After defeating Brentford 1-0 in the midweek round of fixtures, Manchester City now holds what seems an unassailable lead at the summit of the English Premier League heading into the second half of the season. The smart money is with Manchester City to maintain their lead at the top of the league. They have an incredible record against the Gunners.
In their last four matches across all competitions, City has easily accounted for the North London club, winning all four with an aggregate of 11-1. Despite this, I am optimistic about this matchup. These two sides are arguably the most in-form sides in the league.
Arsenal vs Manchester City FYIs:
Kick-off time: 12.30 PM GMT, 1st January 2022
Team News: Manchester City Arsenal
Starting XI Predictions: go here
Premier League Preview Podcast: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Arsenal (WWWW*) Man City (WWWWW)
Let’s look at the team news for the Citizens as they head into this New Year’s Day clash.
John Stones will probably miss out on this one after picking up a knock. Not a lot is known about the Stones’ injury, but City listed him as less than a 50/50 chance of being fit in time for this one.
Kyle Walker will miss out here too. The Englishman has been in fine form this season but has been out with an ‘undisclosed illness’ since almost the beginning of the month. He remains unavailable for selection for New Year’s Day.
The big news emanating from the Etihad (besides their rampaging excellent form) was the sale of forward Ferran Torres to Barcelona. The Spaniard moved to Catalonia for €55 million.
He had an injury-hit second half of 2021 for City and will hope for a better 2022 at his new club.
Despite both teams being in incredible form, you can’t look past the previous meetings between these two sides. Arsenal just can’t beat City.
Victory for Pep Guardiola over his former apprentice Mikel Arteta.