October 6th 2023.
Mikel Arteta has never beaten Pep Guardiola's Man City side in a Premier League game, and Paul Merson is struggling to see how the Gunners can put an end to this Manchester City hoodoo this Sunday.
The Arsenal team could be without the services of two wingers who played a crucial role in their title challenge last season - Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, both of whom have been injured since the start of the month. Martinelli has a hamstring strain and Saka limped out of Tuesday's Champions League defeat at Lens.
The Gunners did get a morale-boosting Community Shield win over City back in August, but their head-to-head record against Pep Guardiola's relentless winning machine isn't inspiring confidence that they can break the record this weekend.
The absence of City's midfield linchpin Rodri (who is still serving a suspension) may give Arsenal fans some hope, but Merson believes that Arsenal's own injury problems negate the potential advantage. He said, "If I had predicted this game on Tuesday, I'd have definitely backed Arsenal to win this game. But without Saka and Martinelli, I can't see how Arsenal can win this game."
He further added, "Kevin De Bruyne gets a lot of assists, but people forget about his passes before the assists. Erling Haaland makes a lot of runs, but City haven't got too many players apart from De Bruyne who can thread the eye of the needle with their passes. That's why Haaland is struggling to get his goals at the moment."
Merson believes that Arsenal should make the most of the opportunity that they have since City have only picked up one point in their last two games. He also suggested that Kalvin Phillips could be the natural replacement for Rodri. He concluded, "It's going to be a very cagey match, and I think it'll end in a draw."
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