Today is the day that many Arsenal fans have been dreading as Manchester City make their way to north London, and Mikel Arteta has a big decision to make in regards to his starting XI.
The Gunners have failed to win in three matches having been eliminated from the FA Cup by Pep Guardiola’s City before losing to Everton and then drawing to Brentford, albeit in a game where Arsenal were robbed of two points from shocking officiating from the VAR.
Calls have been made on social media by supporters for Arteta to shake up his starting XI ahead of City’s trip down to the English capital, with Leandro Trossard impressing off the bench for the Gunners whilst Ben White has seen a dip of form that could be concerning to some.
Indeed, Arteta has to get his starting XI bang on if he is to get three points tonight against City, and here is Arsenal Insider’s predicted XI for this evening’s huge Premier League clash.
Arteta sticks to Arsenal’s best starting XI to face Manchester City
To the surprise of few, our predicted XI is the one that has started essentially every match since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with White retaining his starting spot at right-back as well as Gabriel Martinelli, another player who has received criticism for his poor performances in recent weeks.
Whilst Occam’s Razor would call for both White and Martinelli to be dropped from the starting XI, Arteta simply can’t afford to make such a change in a game as big as this, with the duo knowing the system well enough to have one big game against Arsenal’s main Premier League rival this season.
Indeed, some would say that going unchanged will make Arsenal predictable for a team as tactically complex as Guardiola’s City, however, given how good the Gunners performed against the Manchester side in the FA Cup earlier this season with a weakened side, the potential is there for a massive result at the Emirates.
Familiarity could lead to huge Arsenal win this evening
With fortress Emirates yet to see Arsenal lose a game this season in the league, confidence will be there for the Gunners to go out there and play City off the pitch, something the Gunners did last year in this exact fixture before a stoppage-time Rodri winner ruined the party.
Given the stakes at hand and the pressure Arsenal will be on, this will be Arteta’s biggest test yet this season. Yet based on wins against Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United, that could happen once again this evening with the reigning Premier League champions.
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