Manchester City welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday for one of the biggest games in the Premier League calendar. Mikel Arteta’s side came close to breaking City’s grip on the league title in each of the past two seasons — they finished two points behind City last season with the title-race going down to the final day and the season prior, they led the league for a majority of the campaign but lost steam towards the end and finished five points behind City.
The two sides could be involved in another battle for the title this season after both have made promising starts. Here’s everything you need to know about their clash on Sunday.
Key details:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. BST (11 a.m. E.T.)
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: John Brooks
How to watch:
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and NBC Sports in the United States. You can also follow along live with ESPN’s live updates.
Team news:
City remain without defender Nathan Aké, who picked up an injury while on international duty with the Netherlands. Rodri, who made his first appearance of the season from off the bench in the Premier League win against Brentford, could return to the starting lineup.
“The doctors said to me he wasn’t right to play but I was thinking about changing it at half-time anyway,” Guardiola said about his injury after the game.
Arsenal will be without Martin Ødegaard, with Arteta confirming on Wednesday that the midfielder will be out “for a while” with a significant ankle injury. Like Ødegaard, Riccardo Calafiori too sat out Arsenal’s win over Tottenham with injury but the Italy international was fit to come off the bench in the team’s draw away at Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday.
There is some good news for Arsenal, though. Declan Rice will be available for the trip to Manchester having served a one-match suspension for his red card against Brighton.
Fantasy watch:
In July, Erling Haaland was announced as the most expensive player in Fantasy Premier League history after being priced at £15 million. Somehow, that figure has since been deemed too cheap. The striker’s superb start to the season that has seen him score nine goals in four games — including two hat tricks — has seen his price rise to £15.2m.
However, it is worth noting that last season he twice failed to score against an Arsenal backline that boasted the best defensive record in the league.
Opting to captain someone besides Haaland this gameweek could prove fruitful and a key differential. But it is a high risk-high reward strategy.
Stats:
Stats to follow from ESPN’s Stats and Information Group.
Form guide:
Manchester City – WWWW
City have picked up where they left off last season. Their winning start to the campaign has pushed their unbeaten record in the league to 27 games.Following a comfortable win away to Chelsea on the opening day of the season, City romped to wins over Ipswich Town and West Ham courtesy of successive Haaland hat tricks. The 24-year-old scored a brace against Brentford last weekend as City came back to win 2-1 after conceding within 22 seconds.
They’ve racked up a staggering 11 goals in their opening four games while seemingly not stepping out of second gear. Their scoreless draw with Inter on Wednesday was the first time they’ve failed to score this season.
Mikel Arteta lauds his Arsenal side for their North London derby win without captain Martin Odegaard or suspended Declan Rice.
Arsenal – WWDW
Arsenal have had a near-flawless start to their campaign, with three wins in their opening four games. They impressed in tough away fixtures at Aston Villa and Tottenham but were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton in a game that saw Rice receive a controversial red card. It remains the only league goal they’ve conceded so far this season.
The north London side’s climb up the table in recent seasons has been built on defensive solidity and the addition of Jurriën Timber at left-back has imbued their backline with further aggression. While the goals have been spread across the team, Bukayo Saka has been the star man going forward, scoring one goal and registering four assists this season.
Quotes:
Guardiola on De Bruyne’s injury:
“He feels a little better today [Friday] … Tomorrow we train and we will see. He could be [involved].”
Guardiola on Phil Foden’s slow start to the season:
“Every player needs a break. He played a good 45 minutes the last game [against Inter]. He was the best player in the league last season and can fight with the other midfield players. Unfortunately the final decision he was not more calm but his intensity and pressing and movements in small pockets, he is one of the best in the world. That’s why we are very pleased that he is back.”
Arteta on Arsenal’s tricky fixture list:
“We’ve been preparing for this since preseason. Obviously, we knew the schedule and we know that it’s extremely rare to play in these conditions with three massive away games in six days. But it was what it was so we have prepared for that, both physically, mentally and tactically. We’re making sure that everyone is ready for it because we’re going to need them, especially with the injuries that we had from the international break.”
Arteta on if David Raya is the best goalkeeper in the world right now:
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen other goalkeepers, but at the moment he’s been exceptional for us that’s for sure.”
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho on Haaland’s form:
“Erling scoring again … it is starting to make us laugh,” Jorginho said. “We look because we watch all the games and we love the Premier League.”
“We watch [City] as well, which is normal. It doesn’t get to our head. We need to focus on us and that is what we are trying to do.”
Key player battle: Erling Haaland vs. William Saliba
The duel between the league’s foremost striker and one of its best defenders is one of the central plot lines to Sunday’s game.
William Saliba, alongside his central defensive partner Gabriel Magalhães, didn’t allow Haaland to take a single shot in both their meetings last season. However, repeating that feat on Sunday could prove a stern challenge for Saliba considering Haaland’s superb start to the season.
Key questions:
Can Arsenal break their Etihad curse?
Arsenal’s last win at the Etihad Stadium came in January 2015. To help put that into context, Arteta was still a player at the club.
Since taking over as manager in 2019, the Spaniard has transformed Arsenal into title contenders, and their away form has been central to that ascent. They are unbeaten away from home in 2024 — an 11-game stretch that twice saw them win at Tottenham and Manchester United.
Arsenal came close to breaking their Etihad duck last April, with a scoreless draw marking the first time in eight years they avoided defeat there. Arteta will be hoping they can go one better on Sunday.
How will this game impact the title race?
It can seem premature to look at a side’s fifth game of the season and forecast that it could have a real sway on the Premier League title, but that may be the case here.
City have won six league titles under Pep Guardiola, three of those by two points or less. Liverpool, who finished one point shy in 2018-19 and 2021-22, failed to beat City in each of those seasons. Arsenal fared better in the third instance, beating City in their first meeting last season before being the draw at the Etihad in the return fixture.
Come the end of the season, this game may be rememberd as an early six-pointer between two sides chasing the Premier League title.
