Two of this season’s title contenders have slipped up in recent weeks and now find themselves in third and fourth place in the table. That doesn’t take away from the fact that both sides feature some outstanding individual players. Here we take a look at three key battles that might decide Arsenal’s visit to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Kevin De Bruyne vs. Alexis Sanchez
In Sergio Aguero’s absence, Kevin De Bruyne will be City’s main man. The Belgian midfielder is currently leading the league in terms of assists with 8 and is a key cog in Pep Guardiola’s City machine. His influence wasn’t diminished with Sergio Aguero’s suspension, as he provided an assist for Pablo Zabaleta against Watford. If Arsenal can stop De Bruyne on Sunday, they should stand a very good chance of beating Manchester City.
Alexis Sanchez has been fantastic for Arsenal this season in his new role playing through the middle. It’s a wonder why Arsene Wenger hasn’t tried him there in past seasons. Sanchez is joint top goalscorer with Diego Costa this season, finding the back of the net 12 times and he’s also chipped in with 5 assists. His performance against West Ham was one of the great individual Premier League performances and his link-up play with Mesut Ozil could be dangerous for a questionable City defence.
Petr Cech vs. Claudio Bravo
When Petr Cech retires, he’ll be remembered as one of the great Premier League goalkeepers. His arrival at the Emirates was a coup for Wenger and was a vast improvement on what was there before. Although he got off to a shaky start, he’s kept Arsenal in matches and has saved them valuable points. He consistently shows high levels of concentration, which separates him from other goalkeepers in the league.
Pep Guardiola sees his goalkeeper in an entirely different way and has decided to go for a keeper more confident with his feet, rather than a shot stopper like Cech. Bravo has come under constant scrutiny for his performances this season, many of which have been disappointing. He’s not helped by the fact that the man he replaced was Joe Hart, who’d have saved many of the goals that City have conceded this season. Guardiola sees Bravo as a keeper who’ll win his team points by beginning attacks from the back, although a reasonable idea, his shot stopping has actually cost his team points so far this season.
Pep Guardiola vs. Arsene Wenger
It’ll be a match between two managers who like to play possession football. Arsenal have been a poor man’s Barcelona for a number of years, playing beautiful football but without the same level of success as the opposing manager on Sunday. For the first time in a long time, Arsenal have a Plan B in Olivier Giroud on the bench. Giroud is criticised, but if Sanchez fails to fire on Sunday, then Giroud could cause damage to a defence that doesn’t keep many clean sheets.
Guardiola on the other hand has played possession football everywhere he’s been, but is finding life in the Premier League a lot tougher than anywhere else he’s managed. His tactics are hard to predict, as he changes them on a game-by-game basis. Manchester City’s players also aren’t of the same quality as what he’s had before and his reluctance to change, albeit admirable, is costing his side dearly.
