Manchester City v Arsenal: the tactical battles that could decide title clash | Premier League | The Guardian

In this article, we examine five key areas where Arsenal may have a chance of beating Premier League champions Manchester City, despite the odds being stacked against them.

Although Mikel Arteta is not a clone of his former mentor Pep Guardiola, both share a similar outlook on football. They both favour a 4-3-3 with a hard press, and this may make it difficult for Arteta to gain a tactical advantage over City, who boast a formidable midfield trio of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and either Ilkay Gündogan or Bernardo Silva. With Thomas Partey and Martin Ødegaard suffering dips in form and Granit Xhaka struggling with illness, Arsenal’s midfield is not at the same level as City’s.

However, some teams have successfully taken points off City by playing with a back five, which compresses the space and makes it harder for them to create chances. Everton, Brentford, and Tottenham have all employed this tactic in the past, although it remains to be seen whether it would work against the current City side, which has been in relentless form for the past two months. Arteta has also experimented with a back five, but it was unconvincing in their recent game against Liverpool.

One area where Arsenal may have an advantage is on the flanks, especially if City field Aymeric Laporte or Sergio Gómez at left-back due to the injury to Nathan Aké and the departure of João Cancelo. Bukayo Saka could prove to be a thorn in the side of a repurposed central defender or someone who has never started a Premier League game before.

Another potential opportunity for Arsenal to tip the balance in their favour is by exploiting City’s vulnerability to set plays. Although they have become adept at scoring from set pieces this season, they have also conceded goals in this manner. Arsenal were particularly vulnerable to inswinging deliveries, and it will be interesting to see whether Guardiola’s side can exploit this weakness.

Overall, it will be a tough ask for Arteta’s side to overcome City’s superior personnel and form, but by playing to their strengths and exploiting City’s weaknesses, they may be able to cause an upset.

But Bayern, with pace in forward areas, did create chances and with better finishing from Leroy Sané, or had Jamal Musiala not slipped when well placed, they might have got a goal that could at least have unsettled City. Counterattacking should be an Arsenal strength. They have, in Gabriel Jesus, a centre-forward adept at dropping deep to spring the two wide forwards. Ødegaard, on song, should be able to pick passes to release runners.

The presence of Haaland, meanwhile, means City tend to play the ball forward quicker, which in turns means they never have quite the control they have had at previous peaks. City have conceded 28 league goals, two more than in the entirety of last season and five more than in 2018-19. But equally, with Haaland, City no longer have to be so precise in their buildup; they no longer have to dominate games to win them.