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How Arsenal Could Line Up Against Man City In Crunch Prem Clash Tonight

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2023

How Arsenal Could Line Up Against Man City In Crunch Prem Clash Tonight

Arsenal and Manchester City have the opportunity to determine the League winner with a win in tonight’s crucial Premier League clash.

Heading into the game, Arsenal and Manchester City sit first and second on the Premier League table respectively.

Arsenal are set to be without four players for Wednesday’s Premier League showdown with title rivals Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

Former Citizens forward Gabriel Jesus has stepped up his recovery from a knee injury, but he is still a few weeks away from returning to first-team action, while Mohamed Elneny is set to be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery at the end of last month.

Reiss Nelson has returned to training from a hamstring issue but he has not been involved in the last two matchday squads and is not expected to feature any time soon, while Emile Smith Rowe is nursing a thigh problem and will not be involved on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta has used the same starting lineup for each of the last six Premier League games and the Gunners boss may be tempted to stick with the same XI in midweek despite the quick turnaround.

However, January signing Leandro Trossard will be pushing to start on the left flank ahead of Gabriel Martinelli after coming off the bench to score his first Arsenal goal in the 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka provided Trossard with an assist in that match, and the Gunners No.7 is set to retain his place on the right side of the attack as Eddie Nketiah continues to lead the line in Jesus’ absence.

Captain Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, and Granit Xhaka are expected to line up in center-midfield, with Fabio Vieira and Jorginho waiting in the wings if needed – the latter of whom is still awaiting his full Arsenal debut following his January move from Chelsea.

The Gunners have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three league matches, but a back four of Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and former City man Oleksandr Zinchenko is poised to protect Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks.