Give everything to protect their place. Arsenal must beat Pep Guardiola's men this Wednesday if they are not to be overtaken in the title race. The Gunners have largely dominated the race this season, but the team has not been as consistent as before and has drawn 2-2 with Liverpool, 2-2 at West Ham and 3-3 with Southampton. In this 33rd matchday, they will have to reverse the trend, without William Saliba but with Martinelli.
Martinelli and Odegaard to shake up City's defenders
It's not easy to get rid of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias or Nathan Aké. However, it is through them that Arsenal's strikers must pass. True to form, the Gunners should torpedo the Mancunian surface and try to get a better score than the results obtained in the FA Cup (1-0) or the last Premier League clash (3-1).
Martinelli and Martin Odegaard fit perfectly into this dynamic. Although the last few weeks have not been kind to the Londoners, they have been scoring and setting up. This is not surprising when you consider the quality of the two players' shooting.
Bukayo Saka's quick, hard-hitting profile and Gabriel Jesus' accuracy must be added to this. The latter has been lacking for the Gunners of late and will need to reappear against his former club.
When asked about the tactics he will use against City, Arteta was categorical. He will use his attacking strengths as usual. "It will all come down to possession, loss of the ball, transition, recovery, set pieces and emotional state," he explained with a little more clarity. With Arsenal playing 'fluid' football, the spectacle will only be more attractive.
Watch out for marking errors
Against Southampton on Friday, a careless marking error by Oleksandr Zinchenko guided the Saints towards goal. Against Liverpool, the defence also failed to anticipate the opposition's moves and found itself in a tight spot. This Wednesday, the slightest blunder will allow the Mancunians to exploit every situation. The defence must therefore be ready.
But with Saliba out, Arsenal's centre-half is already suffering. Rob Holding can deliver a decent performance, but there is no doubt that the Skyblues attack will try to destabilise him.
But the Gunners will still be able to count on Aaron Ramsdale, who is always effective in deflecting good balls. He was very dynamic against Liverpool and was more successful against Southampton despite conceding a goal in the first minute, and is a weapon of choice in front of City.
"There is no difference between playing this team (City) and the others. We knew from the beginning that to win the Premier League we had to go to Spurs and beat them, go to Chelsea and beat them too.
"That's what we did, that's why we're here and now we have to go to City and we have to defeat them - you want to be champions, you have to win those games, it's as simple as that."
