Three places and six points separate Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal from former champions Manchester City and the two teams meet at the Etihad for what is expected to be a fantastic game of football in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Three places and six points separate Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal from former champions Manchester City and the two teams meet at the Etihad for what is expected to be a fantastic game of football in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Both teams enter the game following contrasting wins in Europe this week. City had a come from behind 3-2 win over Bayern Munich who led the game 2-0 before half time. But City showed guts and character to pull out a great win for the club at the home of the European club champions.
Arsenal on the other hand were made to sweat by Napoli who beat them 2-0 and almost knocked them out of the Champions League.
Now both teams will turn their attention to domestic matters ahead of the Champions League draw for the knock-out stages which takes place on Monday.
Arsenal have enjoyed a dream start to the season and their consistency to date suggests that they are genuine title contenders. Their only blip has been the loss to champions Manchester United but they have since recovered to open up a five point lead on second place Liverpool.
A win for Arsene Wenger’s men would see them open up a nine point lead on Manchester City and show there true pedigree. City have been no pushovers at home where they have been comfortable and playing like real ‘City Slickers’ in most if not all of their games.
The creature comforts of home have suited Sergio Aguero and his teammates who have been rampant there.
Both teams had identical 1-1 draws in the last Premier League outings, Arsenal drawing with Everton while City were held by Southampton.
While a draw may seem a likely result based on the current form of both teams, a home win would not be a surprise based on the size of the squad that Manuel Pellegrini has to choose from and the hours that the Arsenal players have under their legs in recent weeks.
Manchester City boast the best home record in the Premier League, having won all their home games so far while Arsenal boast the best away record and those statistics only serve to add spice to this massive encounter.
Arsene Wenger insists that Arsenal having nothing to fear from City while Manuel Pellegrini is confident of his team’s chances of taking all three points and cutting the gap between the two in half. This game represents a true ‘six pointer’ if ever there was one.
Photo: Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger (Getty Images)
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