Arsenal take on Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon in a vital Premier League clash.
Spirits are low amongst Gunners supporters, with the club’s inactivity in the transfer window prompting anxiety.
However, Arsenal beat Girona in midweek to secure their place in the top eight of the Champions League table, ensuring they avoid an additional play-off round which City will be subjected to.
This victory has somewhat raised morale, although a major triumph over a domestic rival would significantly improve the general atmosphere in N5.
City are returning to form after a significant blip, but Arsenal remain favourites and should lean into their physically imposing qualities to defeat Pep Guardiola’s men on Sunday.
- READ MORE: Arsenal vs Man City – How to watch, live stream details, team news, injury update and more
Mikel Arteta should start Mikel Merino over Thomas Partey against Man City
The majority of Mikel Arteta’s line-up for the City game picks itself, with David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli all very likely to start.
However, one area of contention is midfield, and who completes the trio alongside Rice and Odegaard.
Arteta is likely to favour Thomas Partey for this role, but Mikel Merino should instead be utilised by the Spanish boss.
Partey was criticised for his performance against Girona, while fans were also frustrated with Merino for his showing.
Critique directed at the Ghanaian was largely compartmentalised by the fact that he was deployed out of position, but that shouldn’t stop Arteta from dropping the player against City.
Guardiola’s side have looked physically fragile in recent months, and have lost their midfield powerhouse in Rodri, who is out with an ACL injury.
The likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis aren’t renowned for their physicality or athleticism, and thus Arteta should look to bully the City midfield by selecting his most robust players.
Merino has been described as a ‘duel monster’, because he excels in physical duels, and this attribute could give Arsenal a significant advantage on Sunday.
With Rice and the Euro 2024 winner dominating the midfield battle, Arsenal should have too much for City.
On top of this, Merino has the ability to break into the box and attack crosses against a vulnerable City back-line that could include an inexperienced 20-year-old centre-back in Abdukodir Khusanov.
Arsenal should be targeting set-pieces against Man City
In the reverse fixture at the Etihad, Gabriel scored from a corner and should’ve had another prior to this goal.
City evidently cannot deal with Arsenal’s dangerous set-pieces, and this is another reason to start Merino.
The former Real Sociedad man causes havoc from dead-ball situations, and Arsenal will need to maximise their output from these scenarios, in what is likely to be a tight game in open-play.
Merino wins 4.62 aerial duels per 90 minutes, placing him in the 99th percentile for this metric throughout Europe’s top five leagues.
Arteta needs to abandon pretty passing patterns and play a brutalist game on Sunday.
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