Former Chelsea defender Scott Minto believes Arsenal have a ‘massive’ advantage over Manchester City ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at the Emirates.
City travel to North London on the back of two positive results this week, beating Manchester United and Napoli comfortably.
Meanwhile, Arsenal beat Athletic Club 2-0 in Bilbao on Tuesday, with Mikel Arteta’s team now winning four of their opening five matches of the new campaign.
The Gunners will be desperate to secure all three points against Pep Guardiola’s men, to ensure they don’t fall further behind league leaders Liverpool.
Scott Minto says Arsenal have ‘massive advantage’ over Manchester City for a few reasons
Arsenal played Athletic Club on Tuesday, while City had to wait until Thursday to take on Napoli in their opening Champions League fixture.
Arteta’s squad will therefore have had an extra 48 hours of rest before the pivotal encounter in N5 on Sunday.
This, combined with a myriad of other factors, makes Arsenal clear favourites to beat City.
The Gunners have a deep squad, and Arteta subsequently has several options at his disposal that he can play around with. Meanwhile, City currently have a number of injury issues which will force Guardiola to select players that may not otherwise have been selected for a game of such magnitude.
Speaking on the Premier League All Access Podcast on Thursday, Minto revealed that he fancies Arsenal to come away with all three points.
“For many reasons, I fancy Arsenal,” the pundit said.
“I really do. I think they’re in such a good place right now. I think they’re much more solid than City are. They’ve got the extra two days off.”
“Which has got to be a massive benefit, hasn’t it?” Minto was asked by presenter Sam Matterface.
“Massive, massive, massive,” he responded.
The midfield battle will determine the outcome of Arsenal vs Man City
Arsenal may be without Martin Odegaard against City, which will be a huge loss for Arteta.
That said, the Norwegian’s absence inadvertently allows the Gunners to start Mikel Merino in midfield alongside Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice.
Merino isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the Spaniard could be crucial to defeating the Citizens. Guardiola could be without Rodri, meaning Nico Gonzalez could start in the middle of the park.
Even if Rodri is available, the Manchester side look physically frail in midfield, with Tijani Reijnders meek and more focused on supporting the attack than contributing defensively.
Arsenal’s prospective midfield trio, involving Merino, should be capable of overpowering City, which should allow the Gunners to dominate possession and territory.
The midfield battle is where the game will be won or lost, and Arsenal are certainly more impressive in this area of the pitch.
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