Tuesday, December 22, 2015, 7am AEDT, Emirates Stadium, watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Arsenal: Second
Manchester City: Third
Season record
Arsenal: 10-3-3
Manchester City: 10-4-2
Last five games
Arsenal: DLDWW
Manchester City: DLWLW
TWO Premier League heavy weights square off for a crack at top spot in the undoubted match of the round.
And Arsenal ($2.40 with Sportsbet.com.au) has to make a massive selection call ahead of the clash with Manchester City ($2.87 with sportsbet.com.au) (Draw is $3.50), with Chilean sensation Alexis Sanchez declaring himself fit and calling on manager Arsene Wenger to pick him, despite damaging his hamstring just three weeks ago.
Sanchez is noted for a supreme work ethic and clearly wants to play in what is one of the biggest fixtures of the season.
Wenger ha hinted that Sanchez is a chance to play, but the Gunners would be foolish to take a risk with the attacker, after he had complained of a tight hamstring before the Norwich game and then limped off in the 1-1 draw.
City has a superstar of its own that it must make a call on, with Argentinean Sergio Aguero back in training this week.
Aguero has not been able to play 90 minutes since late September, but he would provide a huge boost for City if he can play, having scored nine goals in 14 matches this season.
One guy who won’t take the pitch is the Sky Blues’ captain Vincent Kompany, who has been struggling with a calf injury, while Arsenal has a litany of injured players, including Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Jack Wilshere.
But they will be warmed by the news reports that Danny Welbeck had suffered another setback in his recovery from an injury that has seen him out since April this year were hogwash.
Welbeck is on track for a return in January.
Make no mistake, this is one of the biggest fixtures of the season, with both teams gunning for Leicester City’s perch at the top of the Premier League table.
And it is turning into an intriguing battle, with the Gunners two points behind and City just one game further back.
Every match is vital, but this against sides that are so close on the table take on extra meaning.
Last time these two teams met at Emirates Stadium, both side’s fought back from one goal margins, the game ending in a 2-2 draw in what was an entertaining affair.
In that match, Aguero fired in first just before the half hour mark, before Arsenal roared back in the second half with goals to the injured Wilshere and Sanchez.
But City wasn’t done, Martin Demechelis ensuring a split of the points in the 83rd minute.
In the reverse fixture in January, the Gunners made off with all three points, thanks to a penalty conversion from Cazorla and a second half goal to Giroud.
After three games without taking full points in the league, the Gunners have managed a pair of wins, first over Sunderland and most recently a 2-0 result at Aston Villa.
In that game, Olivier Giroud fired in his 50th goal for the club with a penalty in the eighth minute and then Ramsay killed off the contest half an hour later.
Wenger was happy with the win and reiterated his side’s burgeoning title potential this week, but said the City game would not decide the winner.
“No, we are in December, we are not fighting for the Premier League,” he said when asked if the match was do or die.
“What you look at is of course to nullify the individual quality they (City) have offensively, that will be vital for us to find a good balance between defending well as a team and expressing our way to go forward.
“But you cannot ignore the individual quality they have up front.
“If we win, it will boost our chances of course to go to the top.
“It is a massive game and when you play at home you want to win because we ambitious and we feel over Christmas we play many home games and our strength and we have the chance to come out in a strong position after Christmas.
“It will be a very tight game because if you look at the numbers since the start of the season, offensively and defensively the numbers are very close.”
Pellegrini stoked the rivalry with the Gunners a little this week, saying they would trade places with City after it booked its spot in the next round of the Champions League.
“It would be very bad for the Premier League for Chelsea, Arsenal and United to be eliminated,” he said.
City recovered from a loss at Stoke to overcome Swansea, 2-1, thanks to a remarkable finish.
City went ahead through Wilfried Bony in the 26th minute and looked like it would eke out a 1-0 win.
But Bafetimbi Gomis had other ideas, equalising in the 90th minute.
All but consigned to a share of the points, City flocked forward and amazingly found a winner through Kelechi Iheanacho.
Gun keeper Joe Hart wasn’t happy with the performance and said his side would need to be better to beat Arsenal.
“It’s a shame it needs the dragon to be poked before we come out of the cage,” Hart said of the Swans’ performance.
“We know what we’ve got here and it’s frustrating when we don’t do it, but it’s a long season and we’ve got ourselves into a good place.
“We need to be a million per cent better against Arsenal.
“We need to step up.
“We can be awesome when we want to be so we need to be more consistent – that’s what we’re looking for.”
Hart said “Seven or eight” City players weren’t performing to the best of their considerable abilities and he called on them to be the ones to lift for the clash with Arsenal.
“We were top of the league (until Sunday), we went through in the Champions League as group winners, we’re in the semi finals of the Capital One Cup,” he said.
‘We’re in a good place but we just need to start performing as we know we can.
“At least seven, eight of us.
“We know every couple of weeks people will have off days.’
Possible teams
Arsenal: Petr Cech, Hector Bellerín, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Matthieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud
Manchester City: Joe Hart, Bacary Sagna, Nicolas Otamendi, Eliaquim Mangala, Aleksander Kolarov, Ya Ya Touré, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Bony
Match predictions
Match result: Draw ($3.50 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Correct match score: Draw 2-2 ($11 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Total match goals: Over 2.5 ($1.70 with Sportsbet.com.au)
This is the sort of match both teams want to win. But they will both be more desperate not to lose it and for that reason we are going for the draw. A split of the points makes sense with two teams jostling for that top spot. The Gunners have won their last two outings, despite being ravaged by injury, so you have to give them points there, while City bounced back last match, so both sides take winning form into this one. And history is on their side too. The Gunners have lost just once in their past 18 home clashes with City, who have not won away from home in their last four tries.
We’re banking on some seriously pretty football that will hopefully have an edge of your set factor, just like the City-Swans finish last week.
First goal scorer tips
Arsenal
Olivier Giroud ($6 with sportsbet.com.au)
The perception is not the reality with Giroud. Many fans see him as soft and not elite, but the statistics tell a vastly different story of the beautiful Frenchman’s contribution to this Arsenal outfit. Fifty goals in the league and nine this season make him one of the most dangerous strikers of his time. It’s time to give him a little bit of credit where it’s due.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ($11 with Sportsbet.com.au)
The Ox is a favourite of the SafeBookies.com crew and its due to his ability to run at defenders and bulldoze his way through tight openings. Pacy and skilled, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s strength is what separates him from other midfielders of his type. The kid knows how to finish, but probably doesn’t do it enough, so he will be doing his best to change that. A solid first goal scorer bet at juicy odds.
Manchester City
Sergio Aguero ($6 with sportsbet.com.au
The default pick for City’s first goal and for good reason. Despite often being injured, this guy is brilliant when he can string some games together and City will be hoping the Arsenal game is the start of a long run of goal scoring brilliance from their most talented player. Our honourable mention if Aguero doesn’t play goes to the uber talented Raheem Sterling, who is worth a shot at $8.50.
Kevin de Bruyne ($8.50 with Sportsbet.com.au)
You can guarantee this guy will play after coming on as the sub for the Sky Blues’ last outing with Swansea. The Dutch attacking midfielder has been a revelation for City this season, filling his bag with goals and setting up plenty for his teammates as the focal point of this super talented midfield. As he goes, City tends to go these days, so if he scores early, things could get very interesting.
