With just five games to go in the Premier League after this weekend, Sunday’s heavyweight clash between Arsenal and Manchester City could prove to be decisive in the title race.
Learning from the Carabao Cup Final
For Arsenal, the Carabao Cup Final was a humbling experience, both in terms of the result and the tactical approach.
Pep Guardiola’s pressing approach completely nullified Arsenal in the final, because they knew that the Gunners were not comfortable trying to play through the press.
This is where Mikel Arteta has to learn from a tactical approach today. The Gunners need to have a team with some technical quality.
Ideally, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, both of whom are available, would help massively; however, it looks unlikely for that to happen.
Eberechi Eze should start as a number 10 today, which already makes a big difference in terms of technical quality compared to Kai Havertz.
If Arteta wants to get a result today, then he is going to have to try something different to the Wembley final, particularly because Bournemouth and Southampton have also found similar approaches to damage the Gunners’ season.
Fearless approach
One of the criticisms that has plagued Arsenal for years is that they tend to get too emotional and put too much pressure on games. That’s something that heading into Sunday needs to be balanced.
There’s been that nervous sense, especially around the Emirates, over the last few months, with last weekend’s loss at Bournemouth being another one of those moments.
In his pre-match presser, Arteta described this game as a ‘privilege’ and one that they were going to prepare to win.
Arsenal need to set out with the intention to try and win the game, because playing a negative approach and setting out for a draw could prove to be costly. The Gunners cannot afford to drop more points if they want to keep their title hopes alive.
Both Chelsea and Liverpool showed that Manchester City can be attacked at, and it is important that the Gunners develop that approach of trying to play on the front foot.
Poor record away at the Etihad
Arsenal have not won away at the Etihad Stadium since January 2015, when Santi Cazorla scored from the spot in the first half, and Olivier Giroud headed home from a free-kick in the second to secure a 2-0 win.
The Gunners came close to winning with 10 men last year, if not for John Stones' last-minute goal, and though a draw would not be the worst result for Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, a first win in over a decade at the Etihad would be seismic.
With fresh defensive options available, Arteta has the tools to set up a side capable of both defending stoutly and breaking forward with purpose at the Etihad.