Preview Manchester City vs Arsenal: Title-Determining Match

The 2022/2023 Premier League season is entering its final stage. Defending champion Manchester City will clash with the standings leader Arsenal in the midweek match on Wednesday (26/4/2023) or early Thursday WIB.

Guardiola may be a little proud because his competitors this season are his former students. On the other hand, Mikel Arteta is now trying to restore Arsenal’s glory like in the Arsene Wenger era.

Arsenal’s pace, which seemed unstoppable until the middle of this season, suddenly started to falter in the last three Premier League matches. They failed to gain full points, after only drawing in the last three matches, including when they played 3-3 against Southampton last weekend.

Even though they still lead the standings with 75 points, or are 5 points ahead of Manchester City, Mikel Arteta’s men have played two more games than The Citizen. With City away at home, the Gunners have just six games remaining this season. Meanwhile Manchester City still has eight games remaining.

That is, mathematically if City are able to win the two postponed parties, the blue Manchester camp will immediately shift Arsenal from the top of the standings. There is no doubt that the match at the Etihad Stadium against Arsenal tonight will be the decisive match in the hunt for the title this season.

Manchester City’s recent form has been amazing. They are unbeaten in 16 matches in all competitions (won 13). The Citizen also still have the chance to win the treble this season, after they have qualified for the FA Cup final (against their neighbors Manchester United) and the semifinals of the Champions League (against Real Madrid).

Arsenal, on the other hand, despite not having lost in 12 Premier League matches (last losing at home to City on February 15 2023), but the nervousness of being chased by City began to be felt in the Gunners’ last three matches when they could only get a draw.

The 2-2 draws with West Ham United and Liverpool, in which Arsenal allowed a two-goal lead to vanish, were a sign that the visitors’ back line was in trouble.

City have won their six home league games against Arsenal under Pep Guardiola, with the last defeat to the Gunners back in January 2015. In 2023 alone, City have also played 12 games at the Etihad and have always scored at least two goals, except when they narrow 1-0 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup.

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