Arsenal Clash with Man City: Epic Showdown Preview, Bold Predictions & Starting XI Revealed

A clash of titans awaits at the Emirates Stadium this Sunday afternoon as Arsenal welcome Manchester City for their second Premier League championship examination of the campaign.

The Gunners, who have claimed second place in the last three seasons with two of those defeats coming at City's hands, suffered a loss to defending champions Liverpool at Anfield prior to the September international window, leading to criticism of Mikel Arteta's conservative, defensive strategy on Merseyside.

Arsenal bounced back from their disappointment by defeating Nottingham Forest and Athletic Club in recent fixtures, maintaining their impressive defensive statistics. They have allowed only one goal this season from Dominik Szoboszlai's magnificent free kick but face examination from one of global football's most dangerous attacking units on Sunday.

City demonstrated their offensive prowess in their 3–0 Manchester derby triumph last weekend and continued their winning streak by overcoming Napoli in Champions League action on Thursday evening. Even Arsenal's stubborn defensive unit will be concerned about facing Erling Haaland, who reached 12 goals for club and country this season during midweek action.

Pep Guardiola's squad shows weakness defensively, however, with their backline vulnerabilities exposed by Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this campaign. They must improve to secure a favorable outcome from north London.

Here is Sports Illustrated's preview of this captivating encounter.

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Arsenal vs. Man City Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)

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Arsenal Team News

Arteta has declined to completely eliminate Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Ben White from Sunday's vital match, but has acknowledged that the injured trio "haven't participated in anything yet" while preparing for City's arrival. It appears highly improbable they will feature in the starting lineup and they may be absent altogether.

More positively, William Saliba has returned to full fitness and should take Cristhian Mosquera's place in Arsenal's defensive line—though the summer signing has performed admirably in recent matches.

Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino have been cleared as fit and available after sustaining head knocks in the Athletic Club victory midweek, but Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus continue to be unavailable in attack.

Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both impressed as substitutes in Bilbao with a goal and assist and will be competing for starting positions.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Man City

Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Man City (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyökeres, Eze.

Man City Team News

City understand they will be missing Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki and Mateo Kovačić for the journey to Arsenal, while Rayan Aït-Nouri and John Stones remain questionable in defense as fitness issues continue troubling Guardiola.

Rodri is another player whose participation on Sunday remains uncertain. He featured for sixty minutes during the Napoli victory midweek but requested substitution in the second period while managing an injury picked up in training the day before. Guardiola confessed uncertainty about whether the Spaniard will begin.

Guardiola might deploy the identical starting eleven that impressively overcame Man Utd last weekend, with Haaland, Phil Foden and Jérémy Doku all approaching the weekend's fixture in excellent condition.

Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal

Man City predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Rodri; Silva, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland.

Arsenal vs. Man City Score Prediction

Arsenal claimed this matchup 5–1 last campaign as they overwhelmed a struggling City side, but such a decisive result seems improbable on Sunday. These encounters between Arteta and his former boss Guardiola typically prove tactical battles, with last season's dramatic meetings being unusual rather than typical.

Arteta will probably rely on his solid defense at the Emirates while seeking to claim victory, though the Spaniard might benefit from granting his players more attacking liberty against a City backline that has been exposed by Spurs and Brighton's pressing this season.

City would probably welcome a stalemate from a challenging away fixture as they seek to gradually reestablish dominance, with three of the previous five encounters against the Gunners finishing level after regulation time.

Prediction: Arsenal 1–1 Man City