Troy Deeney found it difficult to make up his mind as he previewed Manchester City’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
The last time Pep Guardiola and Co played against Mikel Arteta’s side in North London, the visitors lost 5-1.
There seems to be a growing feeling of hostility between the two clubs, with Ruben Dias firing shots at Arsenal, claiming they were praised for having a “great season” despite City just finishing three points behind them during the 2024/2025 campaign.
Mikel Arteta respects Pep Guardiola but both sides’ players may not do so, as was highlighted during Erling Haaland and Gabriel Jesus’ argument last season.
In a game that promises to be one for the ages, the pundit has picked a winner on The Football Exchange: Troy Deeney and Alex Goldberg podcast after changing his mind three times.
Pep Guardiola looking concerned during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Troy Deeney predicts Manchester City to beat Arsenal
Initially, Deeney predicted Manchester City to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday.
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Shortly after, the former Watford striker backed the Gunners to win by the same scoreline as he anticipated Pep Guardiola’s side to find it tough to cope with the hosts’ set-piece threat.
Eventually, Troy Deeney reverted to his original prediction, claiming Manchester City to win 2-1 against Arsenal due to the presence of Gianluigi Donnarumma, who impressed against Manchester United.
“I’m going for a 2-1 Man City. No actually, I want to flip that, I want to go 2-1 to Arsenal. My logic is that I can see City struggling with set-piece but I can’t call this because now they have a keeper like Donnarumma. The midfield is probably a bit better.”
“Do you know what, I’m going back to the original, 2-1 to Man City.”
Man City’s recent record vs Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium
It seems like even pundits believe Manchester City and Arsenal are set to battle it out in a closely-fought affair, judging by how difficult Troy Deeney found it to predict the winner in their much-anticipated contest.
Based on their previous outing, many would back the hosts to come out on top.
City’s recent record at the Emirates Stadium shows that it is indeed a tough task to predict which side will emerge victorious.
MAN CITY’S RECORD VS ARSENAL AWAY: LAST FIVE GAMES
SCORELINE WINNER
5-1 ARSENAL
1-0 ARSENAL
1-3 MANCHESTER CITY
1-2 MANCHESTER CITY
0-1 MANCHESTER CITY
In the last five meetings between both sides, Manchester City have won thrice while Arsenal have won two games.
However, recent history favours the North Londoners as they have won successive games at home against City.