Monday 21st December Kickoff: 2000hrs
Arsenal v Manchester City
Football – England – Premier League
The Monday Night Football clash is probably the game of the season thus far as second hosts third with Manchester City travelling to the Emirates. Following Leicester’s win over Everton on Saturday, neither of these two clubs can go top on Monday, but as it’s the final Premier League game before Christmas, both clubs will be aware of the importance off t he result as Arsenal and City remain the favourites to fight it out for the title come the end of the season, and a win for either would be a huge signal of intent.
When West Ham defeated Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates on the opening weekend of the season, the Gunners faithful were already voicing their displeasure at the team and the manager. Fast forward four months later and it is something of a different story as Arsene Wenger’s men sit second and can go back to within two points of Leicester with a win. That’s not to say there has not been further disappointing performances and results – as there has – but due to the nature of the league thus far, dropped points to the likes of West Brom and Norwich have not been as damaging as they may have been in previous seasons. Arsenal come into this crunch game having played the two weakest teams in the division, in the shape of Sunderland and Aston Villa, winning both without really being extended. They will certainly receive a much more thorough examination of their credentials on Monday, however.
Just as Arsenal have had some lapses in the first half of the season, MManchesterCity have had to contend with their own inconsistencies. Their last five games have seen them win two, lose two and draw the other – which has been symbolic of their domestic season to date. Their recent record could have been even worse, however, as their win over Swansea last time out only happened after a late deflected effort from Yaya Toure. It could be said that it’s positive sign when a team is nowhere near their best but still able to pick up three points – and the three accumulated over Swansea was not the first occasion they have done that this season. Logic would suggest that once key players such as Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero are back playing and fully fit, City will find the consistency that has been missing and return to the standard that they showed in the opening few weeks of this season. Fortunately for Arsenal, neither of those players look likely to start although Aguero could feature at some point.
Arsenal are not without injury problems of their own, of course, with Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Santi Cazorla all ruled out and have been for a while, now. Wenger will hope to be able too include Alexis Sanchez in his squad as the Chilean makes his way back from a short-term injury. He will undoubtedly strengthen the team but there remains an issue in the defensive side of the game with Francis Coquelin also absent. The French midfielder has been hugely influential since coming into the team at the start of the year and his ability to break-up the opposition’s play will be a negative for Arsenal against a City team who are likely to create the majority of their chances with intricate link-up play in the final third. Aaron Ramsey will again perform in a deeper role as a result.
Wins away from home in the league have been very hard to come by for City in recent weeks, losing two and drawing two in their last four games on the road. It is a run of form in complete contrast to how they performed in the first month on their travels, picking up three consecutive victories to start the season. Since winning at Palace back in September, City have managed just one goal in their last four away games which is most unlike them. Manuel Pellegrini has found it extremely difficult to get the balance of the team right without Aguero, alternating between Wilfried Bony and Raheem Sterling. Neither have the qualities the Argentinian possesses and as a result, the team does not function as well. I would be surprised to see Aguero come straight in from the start so the onus will once again fall on one of the other two attackers.
Arsenal v Manchester City Betting Tips
This is a match-up between the fourth and second highest-scorers, respectively, and both manager’s philosophies is well known in that they like to attack. So we can expect goals, right? Well, possibly. Arsenal have found goals easily to come by of late but it has been against some of the weakest opponents in the league. City – on the other hand – are not scoring at the same frequency as they were earlier in the season, at least not in the league. The injury to Aguero has been a massive factor in that and if he is not used from the start, I can see them suffering similar problems once again. The bookmakers are not taking any chance with their odds on over 2.5 goals or both teams to score, either, so I am happy to leave those options alone. On the same note, I would not be in any rush to back against them for the reasons outlined at the beginning of this paragraph.
West Ham remain the only Premier League team to have won at the Emirates this season, but whilst they proved to be far too good for Manchester United when the two met, Liverpool and Tottenham have been good enough to take a point each away with them. I’ve documented City’s struggles on the road and it is something that they have to improve if they are to live up to their tags as favourites for this title. Under the circumstances, I think Pellegrini will opt to line up in a similar way to the derby game at Old Trafford. It was obvious that City were happy to settle for a point that day and I can see that being the case against a dangerous Arsenal team. Neither team will want to concede ground on the other and with so much football to be played over the next couple of weeks, one point apiece could be seen as positive by both managers.
Draw 13/5 @ Betvictor
