Arsenal’s 1-1 stumble away to Norwich City has been long forgotten after qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage and moving top of the table following victories over Sunderland and Aston Villa. Arsène Wenger and his players have done an admirable job amid what is a tough time for injuries. Alexis Sánchez, Santi Cazorla, and Francis Coquelin will be sorely missed for this epic Monday night showdown with Man City.
Expectations
The Gunners have not been forced to endure a stern test since losing three of their key players to injury. Aaron Ramsey has played extremely well in central midfield of Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1, while Mathieu Flamini has been serviceable in replacing Coquelin. However, Flamini could be set for a Monday nightmare.
Arsenal have been able to get away with their injury concerns because playing 4-2-3-1 and winning with an ageing Flamini and an attack-minded Ramsey is possible against lower sides like Sunderland and Villa. In fact, Arsenal did well to claim those points because they could drop some against City.
The risk for Arsenal is that Man City’s physical midfielders could beat them into submission. In actuality, there should be no way that Flamini can cope when tussling with the likes of Yaya Touré, Fernandinho, Fernando, and Fabian Delph. Manuel Pellegrini has the luxury of picking two and subbing in two for freshness, while Arsenal have literally no physical central midfielders of note.
Man City need their physical midfielders to dominate in the centre of the pitch, which will give their attacking midfielders like Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, and Raheem Sterling the freedom to win the game. City are unlikely to have captain Vincent Kompany back for the game, so they need to control the midfield to limit Arsenal’s chances.
Match Tips
Tip one: Man City @ 2.87 with Betfair
Tip two: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.70 with Betfair
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Man City played poorly in their 2-1 win against Swansea City last weekend, so expect a better performance after a week of training sessions not disrupted by cup competitions or European football. Arsenal have gotten away with their injuries thus far, but City are the team that can make them pay.
