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Confirmed Arsenal team to face Man City Xhaka starts

So, there is now just an hour to go before the biggest game Arsenal have played in over a decade.

Considering Arsenal’s desperate record in the League against Pep Guardiola, especially at the Etihad, the Gunners have got a mountain to climb, especially considering that we have now had three consecutive draws against inferior opposition.

But, thankfully, Arsenal are currently famous for turning up for the big games, but getting too complacent against sides we are expected to beat easily, so I refuse to give up the fight before a ball is kicked.

We know William Saliba is definitely not available but I believe the rumours that Granit Xhaka is fully recovered to play, so, although I expect Arteta to have one little trick up his sleeve, I don’t think we’ll see much difference from the Boss’ favourite line up.

Anyway, the wait is over, and here is the confirmed team just announced….

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Mikel Arteta in positive mood ahead of Man City visit – “If you want to be champions, you have to win those matches. It’s as simple as that.”

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169 Comments

  1. Same team again, same formation. Arteta took no notice of my winning formula🤣
    Go for it Arsenal because Man city will!!!!!!!!!

    1. @DK
      I hope you are right.
      This team does not inspire any confidence in me.
      I hope I am wrong.

  7. Akanji would likely be able to stop Saka, but I don’t think he will be as good as Silva and Ake at attacking

    I’m just worried about Man City’s threat in set-pieces, because they fielded many tall players tonight

    To win EPL, Arsenal will have no other choice but to win. Losing by one goal or getting slaughtered will pose the same problem for us, so Arsenal shouldn’t park teh bus

  8. I’ll just relax and try to enjoy the game as best I can. The plot is lost already; lost at the London Stadium and confirmed at the Emirates last Friday

  12. It would be very unusual for a team to beat their main rivals three times in one season. Our defenders mustn’t make any howlers and our strikers will look after the rest. So Gunners to win 2-1. Have faith.

    1. Of course its” very unusual” , as most often, teams only play each other twice each season. Obviously!

      1. You are right matey, but even the double would not be very common. You may or may not be aware that sometimes teams have to play each other in Cup competitions as well as the PL !!!!

  13. A predictable selection which poses no surprises for Man City unless our talented wingers are given the green light to rotate.I just hope our players can relax sufficiently to play the brand of football they are capable of , for if they do, they can shock City.Big performances required from Partey and Xhaka tonight.

    1. Hopefully it is squeaking and not squelching
      Hold your never nerve and hold your facts.
      We are about to have a roller coaster 90 minutes
      2-3 and I will go to bed contents person
      Onwards a d upwards

  15. I expect Arteta to do something different if he want a different result from last three previous games.

    Holding is not good enough, White was bought as a central defender.

    Tomi and Tierney are natural right back and left back respectively.

    Drop Holding and Zinny and replace them with proper defenders.

    Simple!

  16. Time for our biggest game in the season, this will make or break our season. A win can catapult us to another winning run and retake the initiative in the title race.

    Hoping for a Holding goal from a set piece cause the lad needs some love but it should be last season. Decent CB but his limitations severely affect our play. His lack of pace means white and partey cant push too much as he wont be able to cover the space behind them while disabling our ability to play a high line like we have done to such good effect all season. This create a bigger space between our attacking and defending players that partey has to cover. Partey is also forced to drop deep to compensate for his lack in forward passing when we build up from the back.

  17. I’m surprised Holding is playing. He is simply not good enough. What is he going to do against Haaland?

  19. I don’t know what happened to Reis Nelson but I would have loved a body for sake on that right wing.. Zin needs to be fully concentrated. This is going to be a very tight game

  21. GX in midfield and OZ @ left back instead of KT. OMG.
    I am going to hide behind the sofa and peep and scream.
    Get ready for the rollercoaster.
    Any of you who have a heart condition, do not watch the match.

    1. Lol @Indian gunner we have to take our chances esp Jesus and also tight at the back Holding has to be brave on and off the ball his play isn’t inspiring at all IM O

    1. I don’t understand what kind optimism is this??
      This is nothing but state of denial..
      Hope this is not going end in horror show for Arsenal

    1. It was way before today Buddy…
      It was over at London stadium itself..
      Today it’s not player’s fault because we always knew Arsenal would loose today…
      So nothing unexpected happened today so far..

  32. For anyone sticking up for holding this year do you think Saliba or Tony Adams would have allowed that ball to travel 50 yards and then let the centre forward control it and pass it off 🤦‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

  33. We still doing the same thing and expecting a different result. We can even beat City’s press from the back.

  34. We are playing with fear and they sense it. Our tracking back is a little panicky not as crisp as usually.

  35. Every time City players runs forward, they look like running with purpose of scoring..
    That’s scary but expected..
    Today it’s not our fault…
    This game was loss written all over it..
    We won’t loose title because of today’s loss
    Because this loss was expected…
    We will loose the title because of last 3 games

    1. Sad but there’s no other choice..
      But idk why not put BE there and Tomiyasu on RB? Is Tomiyasu injured??

    1. We are crippled with fear and about to be overrun. Desperately need something to stroke the fire, a good attack/shot or bloody anything. We ain’t getting anything by playing technical passing football, need to make this match frenzy crazy end to end football.

  43. Arteta is stubborn to change…
    Arsenal have good versatile players, still he doesn’t want to make any changes in tactic…
    In formation..
    Go with 3 at back formation of White, Gabriel and Tierney
    Zinchenko and Partey in Midfield..
    Martinelli and Saka on wide
    Odegaard as number 10
    Trossard and Jesus as CFs

    1. He needs to do something to get control of the midfield. Right now it’s Partey vs 3 macity players. At the moment there is too much space to run into for Halland and KDB.

      1. That’s what I am saying, after having so many versatile players with, he is still sticking with same tactics which are certainly not working..

    2. Definitely we needed two holding midfielders. This is a given for a right thinking coach in such a match. 4-2-3-1. Jorginho and Party sitting. Odegard, Saka and Marinelli drop into midfield and we counter attack to contain city. This formation is mad. We can’t match city 4-3-3. Man to man they have better players. This is my problem with Arteta, the guys just seems stuck in his ways and not adaptable. I am afraid he has probably taken Arsenal as far as he can. A coach needs to tweak formation as your opponent demands

  44. it does feel like boys are intimidated, but this is our team, lets try to support then to the very end.

  50. Partey is getting too isolated because of Gündoğan, Stones and Rodri…
    And because of KDB and other Haaland is getting way too much space
    Game over now

  52. Just park the bus with 10 men behind the ball to mitigate incoming damage. 2-0 loss is an achievement for this team.

    1. I agree with you..
      We are not even going to score forget about winning or drawing..
      Let’s keep the score at 2-0

  55. How come when we face Man City we looked like we have no plan, can’t control a ball,no shape and no team ethic. What an utter shambles and nothing other than i expected. I would have like to have been surprised but that isn’t going to happen. This football will win us zilch in the future. Now you see why Pep sold us Zinchenko and Jesus. To get far better upgrades.

    1. Quite simply put, bottled it again.

      We have lacked speed, strength and physicality. All of which City have in abundance. We have looked the opposite in most departments.

    2. @Reggie
      RealTalk…You can’t beat a man at his own game, when he taught you how to play his way. Jus sayin. 🤔

  56. As expected getting destroyed total bottle jobs will never win anything absolutely pathetic manager should be sacked got the line up completely wrong and totally outclassed by city players and manager who is on a different planet to our novice!

  57. This is the type of game where the top managers show their mark. Pep showed that when he made adjustment after half time when the two team met at Emirates. It’s now MA’s turn to show the world what he got.

  58. Men against boys.
    You have to accept that Man City are worthy of the PL trophy based on that Ist half performance.

    But again IMO, what a nonsense of a formation and choice of personnel. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

  59. Could have been 5-0 nil ,no shots on target and our players and manager being shown up by a team that are still in 3 competitions ,another bottle job to the end of a season .

  60. I hope Arteta and Edu will finally see the importance of having a dominant CF like Haaland, Vlahovic, Lukaku, Weghorst and Watkins

    None of our CFs can hold off the defenders consistently like that

    Man City are miles ahead of us, especially the physicality aspect of the game

    1. I don’t mind if e spend 100m pounds on Victor Osimhen in the summer. I am Nigerian. I can always persuade him to come to Arsenal(lol).
      He is good in the air. Quick and has that imposing stature. With him, Gabriel Jesus can play as a winger/striker. Sell Balogun. Add to that money and bring in Osimhen

    2. Yes…
      It gives you different dimensions and plan B…
      I would love to see player like Ivan Toney or En-Neysri in team..
      Both can wrestle with defenders…
      Both cannot be bullied or outmuscled by defenders and can give headaches to defenders because of their physical ability…

  61. I doubt that the score line is retrievable

    City are a class act and I’m not going to diminish our team’s efforts tonight as we do not have the same strength in depth- to use football speak.

    No lack of commitment shown but not up to what City are showing they can do

  62. Arteta is stubborn to change…
    Arsenal have good versatile players, still he doesn’t want to make any changes in tactic…
    In formation..
    Go with 3 at back formation of White, Gabriel and Tierney
    Zinchenko and Partey in Midfield..
    Martinelli and Saka on wide
    Odegaard as number 10
    Trossard and Jesus as CFs Arteta is stubborn to change…
    Arsenal have good versatile players, still he doesn’t want to make any changes in tactic…
    In formation..
    Go with 3 at back formation of White, Gabriel and Tierney
    Zinchenko and Partey in Midfield..
    Martinelli and Saka on wide
    Odegaard as number 10
    Trossard and Jesus as CFs
    But now it’s too late..
    Let’s try to keep the score 2-0 instead of 5-0 or 6-0

  63. This game just shows how poor most teams have been this year. City making us look average. Being top of the table for so long has been a great achievement but the fact is we were under little pressure. The past few weeks have seen heads drop and nerves tremble. This team still requires a lot of building because our lack of depth is evident.

    1. I think you make valid comments there GunneRay
      There have been nerves previously but City are a different kettle of fish entirely.

  64. Is the kick on Ben white not a red? He studded him in the back of the leg? Xhaka been sent off for less than that!

    1. It was 100% a straight red. Others have gone for way less. But do we expect anything ever from VAR?

      1. Give it a rest ,he Hardly touch him ,is this what we’ve come to ,hoping for VAR or a pathetic attempt from our player to get someone sent off to win .
        Pathetic all round from our team .

        1. Yet beckham got sent off for the same years ago

          I agree we’ve been awful but do you the Xhaka would still be on if he had done that ?

        2. Give nothing a rest! I don’t want to see that in a game, a player getting away with the ball while the other player rakes his studs down the back of his leg. That’s ugly and I don’t think Ben white as a player would pathetically try to get a player sent off. I don’t think that how he plays.

        3. Clearly you haven’t watched football for the last 20 years or so. I remember Gervinho getting sent off for lightly toughing a players face with one finger.

    2. 100%
      Remember the beckham incident when he got sent off
      And that was when men played

      Also the offside was offside VAR showed the wrong angle

  65. Xhaka and Partey are not that mobile. Once you get the ball past them, they won’t recover. I have always said that we need a better midfielder than Xhaka who is only about shape and nothing else. A better midfielder on the left will bring out the best in Martinelli. And oh holding is only being the back up defender he is. You can’t expect anymore. We need at least three more quality players and deadwood gone before we can challenge consistently.

  66. One would think a team who only plays once a week would outrun a team who’s played 3 times a week for the past few weeks. And yet the fatigued looking team is the one whos played in single competition for a month straight now

  67. Shocking first half! Lucky not to be at least 6-0 down. I felt City would score 4 past us today, so we’re halfway there, but silly of me to think Arsenal would score 2!

  68. We can still get a draw but something has to change. City has a compact midfield of 4 players with a very effective midblock. We could even hardly bypass it. Arteta should havr gone with same formation as City and counterattack. No way we are playing our usual game at Etihad.

  69. I get being beaten by a team superior to us but being beaten in the most important match of our season without an ounce of fight. Saka non existent zero defensive help, should be hauled off at half time to show you don’t work get benched.

    Odeggard is pressing alone, jesus is isolated.

  70. Man City has dominated the 1st half of the match and scored just once in it. Arsenal can comeback in the 2nd half to equalise and take the lead in the match. And hold on to their lead to the very end of the match. Prayerfully and hopefully, this will come to pass for us.

  73. Men vs Boys .
    Arteta plays the same formation with the same players all season long . The results ;You guessed it player fatigue, injuries and we have gotten figured out .
    I see a scared team of boys against champions .
    When Zinchenko, Odegard,Jesus PArtey, Xhaka are your experienced players this is what you get .
    Now hope we see what a CF looks like because Jesus is an option but not CF for the starting eleven of a club like arsenal . Odeegard has no competiton , Saka is tired , Holding cant make the Everton starting 11 so why is he at Arsenal .
    The players are weak but Arteta is useless and no matter how it is being painted we have once again bottled it .
    Now that the scales are off our eyes lets give Emery his due for creating the fulcrum of this team .
    We lack depth in our squad and i will let you be the judge of Edu signing the right fixes . We don’t have to spend a fortune . Akanji cost Man city 15 million for Godsake .
    Ugarte, K.Thuram, Muani,El Nesryi,Declan Rice,Ousmanne Diamonde,Y.Fofana ,Soumare, Viega and a host of other players . ITs only going to get tougher next season.

  74. If I am Arteta, I would tell the players to fight for the remaining games. To give 120 percent in the remaining games of the season.
    Man city won’t win away to Brighton and brendford. We should look beyond this match. But one thing he needs to do is to rotate the front 3. He has to start one of Nketiah or Trossard in the next match

    1. Man City has to draw 3 games and we will have to win all our games which is not going happen either things
      We are not going to win all games and City is not going have drop points 3 times..
      Even if we win all our remaining games, still city is not going drop any points

      1. If man city wins their game in hand, they will be 1 point ahead of arsenal. If they draw away to either Brighton or brendford, and will win the remaining games, we will finish 1 point ahead of them. Like I said, Man city Will Not win away at Brighton and brendford. They won’t win those 2 games. It now depends on how arsenal responds to this loss. We can beer new castle away if we have the desire and hunger. But he must not start the same set of players week in week out. He is becoming predictable. This is where rotation is key.

    2. I think they are giving 120%. It’s just not enough still because mentally they are inexperienced. City have a great pedigree.

  75. If we play like that in the 2nd half we are likely to get a result worse than Newcastle v Spurs last weekend.

  76. Fans blaming Holding is just unfair. Halaand is a beast. Why doesn’t the coach instruct Gabriel to man mark him.

  77. Holding should sub himself hold his hands up and say iv been stealing a living here I’m just not good enough but I’d be a great Sunday league player

    1. Tyson, Useless, no. They are still leading the league, city draws 1 and looses 1 game and we are back in it.

  80. Once again, we create our own problems. Shocking to give the ball away like that and then defend that bad too? We’ve made ourselves look really poor (again).

  81. Can’t watch it anymore. We lost 11 games and conceded 29 goals before playing tonight, so the defeat isn’t a surprise

    1-0 and 4-0 are the same problem to us. I’m sure some players in the spine of our formation will be replaced in the summer

  82. It’s just 3 points. Iam not feeling bad with this particular game. The three draws prio to this ode hat hurts

  85. I knew we won’t beat city after that westham game. City are just to strong for us and we have been playing unseriously since the past few games.

  86. Takes 60 minutes and 3 goals down to finally make a change. Literally always the same team week in week out no matter how badly some play the previous week they keep there place in hope they do better the following week.

  87. I am happy that City ended this game so early..
    It’s 02 AM midnight..
    At least I can have good sleep now

  91. If anything Arteta should learn I’m from this game is rotation. Stop starting the same midfield and attack week in week out. Start Nketiah next. Play a midfield of Partey and Jorgihno next. It will afford Partey the opportunity to play a box to box since he is more mobile than Xhaka

  92. Like I always wonder why arteta doesn’t change his tactics because I have seen guardiola change tactics so many times but he still plays the same team over and over again even when they are playing bad especially the game against Liverpool which took him more than 75mijs before he made the first sub

  93. Saka, Shevchenko, and Odagaard shouldn’t be on the pitch. They are so pathetic. Arteta is no match to Guardiola. One set of players and one system is all he knows. Mark my word, he will not win any trophies with Arsenal.

  94. Yeah, City have had enough at 3 – 0 to the leader. They are just comfortably watching our player side way pass.

  95. Arteta lacks what it takes to win a title, at least for now.
    As I’ve always said, he has a whole lot to learn.
    You can’t be doing the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result.
    Even bottom of the table Southampton knew what to do to in order to beat our defense, not to talk of City.
    We needed something different. A break from the last 3 games. An element of surprise that will catch city unaware.
    But what did Arteta do?
    The same damn thing that got us here.
    I hope he learns, for the sake of his own career.

    1. I keep saying it, in today’s game you need physicality and technical players all round the pitch to compete at the top level. Name one player in the team apart from Partey that can stand his ground, we get bullied off the ball with ease 😭

  97. Jorginho should have replaced Xhaka earlier in the second half. I can’t wait for Saliba to be fit. We miss him. Holding has done alright, but Saliba has more composure and can move with the ball. Saka should be rested

    1. I don’t think so. Because four teams have beaten City this season. So sad that we cannot be the fifth team.

    2. The question is does Pep know Arteta inside out. We haven’t troubled city since he left. In fact Pep embarrasses his old mate. Talk about rubbing your nose in it.

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