Wednesday night’s clash between Manchester City and Arsenal has all of the ingredients to be an absolute Premier League classic, with one pundit suggesting a novel way for the hosts to keep Bukayo Saka quiet at the Etihad Stadium.
After three draws in a row and six points dropped as a result, the Gunners go into the game with their confidence battered, and that’s not a good place to be in when you’re up against a team in City that are unbeaten in their last 16 matches, per WhoScored.
Although it’s not a ‘winner takes all’ game despite its top billing, the pendulum will definitely shift if either team can get the win.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been brilliant throughout the campaign, and have only started to wobble over the past few weeks, whereas Pep Guardiola’s City, as has become commonplace, just keep putting together these epic winning runs which seems to scare the lift out of those teams around them.
Indeed, they are the last team that you want breathing down your neck.
There’ll likely be many individual battles across the pitch that will dictate the outcome, and perhaps none more so than down City’s left-side.
TalkSPORT’s Danny Murphy has suggested, for a variety of reasons, that Pep should bring Kyle Walker in to man mark his England colleague, Saka.
Given that Walker can’t get in the side as a right-back because of the system that City are playing, it’s hardly likely he’ll be given licence to try and slot in against one of the best attacking players in the country right now.
"Pep Guardiola might have to throw Kyle Walker in at left-back just to mark Bukayo Saka" ?
Danny Murphy questions how #MCFC's defence will deal with #AFC's Bukayo Saka. ? pic.twitter.com/6XraVn1pOq
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 26, 2023