Manchester City will host Arsenal in a game that could ultimately decide the race for the Premier League title, as Pep Guardiola’s men aim to cut the gap to the Gunners to three points.
City made the most of Arsenal’s defeat at home to Bournemouth last Saturday as they won 3-0 at Chelsea, reducing the points gap to the league leaders to six, with the North London side having played an extra game.
With City’s game in hand, a win over Arsenal in their third game of the season could be a stunning blow in the tough title fight. If City can win and beat Burnley on Wednesday, they will be level on points with Mikel Arteta’s men and could have the edge on goal difference.
Although City look like they will be champions as they aim to avenge Arsenal, Guardiola does not believe that his team is at the level required to regain the title.
“We need to be even better. The first half against Chelsea wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good,” Guardiola said in a pre-match press conference.
“The first 30 minutes we play against Liverpool [in the FA Cup] it wasn’t good either. The first 30 minutes are against Arsenal in the game [EFL Cup] last time they were better.
“You can’t pretend these teams are going to play well for 90/95 minutes, but this aspect is not about the future, the present or the past, it’s about confidence, which is a very good aspect.
“If you can buy confidence in a supermarket we can buy it quickly, it is one of the important things.
“The truth is, there are seven games left in the Premier League and that is the decisive moment.”
City beat Arsenal 2-0 in the EFL Cup final last month, a result that seems to have given them confidence that they can oust the leaders.
But Guardiola knows the score is fair and has expressed his view that the title race will be over if City slip to defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal’s recent results have given little evidence to suggest that would be the outcome, with a defeat at Bournemouth followed by a 0-0 draw with Sporting CP in the Champions League, yet that was enough to reach the semi-finals.
Asked what his team learned from losing the final, Arteta replied: “They did.” [City] we have done it in the past – there were times when we struggled, we didn’t make the right decisions, sometimes we broke that machine and didn’t use it. Every strategy has its problems and its opportunities too, and in relation to what they do, we will adapt and do the same.
“For us now, learn from that game – and the things we want to change going into the next one, and the pain we felt afterwards – in the right way on Sunday.
“Our team must give us all the tools, everything we need to win. We will have a very strong opponent; we know that in front of us. We have done it for nine months in every situation, we have played many games against them, and we know what we have to do.”
Manchester City v Arsenal team news
Ruben Dias (hamstring) is not yet ready to return from the injury that has kept him out since City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last month.
Nico O’Reilly is available despite being forced off against Chelsea, but John Stones (calf) and Josko Gvardiol (shin) remain out.
Bukayo Saka (Achilles) is not in Arsenal, but there is hope that Noni Madueke will be able to play despite being forced by Sporting.
Jurrien Timber (groin), Martin Odegaard (knee) and Riccardo Calafiori (knock) are off Arsenal’s injured list, with Arteta set to make a final decision on their availability on Saturday.
