SO will the best two teams in the Premier League bore the pants off the nation again on Sunday, as they did TWICE last season?
Mikel Arteta pulled off his best Jose Mourinho impersonation for a goalless draw at the Etihad in March.
It was the only time in almost three years Manchester City failed to score in a home league match.
At the Emirates last October, only a freakish late deflected goal by Gabriel Martinelli saved us from another stalemate on a day Arteta recorded his first competitive win over his old mentor Pep Guardiola.
These managers have such mutual respect that games resemble chess matches to purists and paint-drying exercises for more casual viewers.
Of the 380 top-flight games played last season, the two between Arsenal and City were two of the least enjoyable.
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Both games produced only three shots on target — two of only three fixtures to feature such little action.
Can we expect anything different on Sunday? Especially after both teams had goalless draws against Italian opposition in midweek Champions League openers.
And especially when Arsenal miss captain and chief creative force Martin Odegaard?
The timing of it, five games into the new term, will surely make Arteta even more inclined to accept the idea of a draw as a good result.
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With Erling Haaland on 99 City goals — after nine in four league matches so far — and Footballer of the Year Phil Foden primed for a first start this season, Guardiola’s men would be hotly fancied against any other domestic rival.
Yet Arsenal’s top-flight away form is extraordinary this calendar year.
Since losing at Fulham on New Year’s Eve, Arsenal have played 11 games on the road and that bore draw at the Etihad is the only one they failed to win.
The only question is whether — had Arsenal shown greater ambition at City when in outstanding form in late March — they might have secured a victory and first title in two decades.
After all, City pipped them to the crown by just two points.
Asked about Arsenal ‘parking the bus’ back then, City defender Josko Gvardiol replied: “I know what you mean but I really don’t know how they will play.
“We need to prepare in two or three ways just to be sure.”
When questioned on Arsenal this week, Guardiola’s praise was all about their defensive qualities and ability to control matches.
The City boss said: “It is an unbelievable team. They defend really well, don’t concede chances, don’t concede goals, they control everything.
“They have been the biggest challengers in the last two seasons.
They will be there for many years because they create a young team.”
Inter Milan earned a goalless draw at City on Wednesday night.
Simone Inzaghi’s side produced a decent blueprint for Arteta — albeit with a back three and wing-backs, a system Arsenal will not employ.
Inter defended well, broke with pace and had 13 shots on goal, hinting at rarely-seen faults in Guardiola’s side.
Might Arteta be able to produce something similar? Odegaard’s ankle injury doesn’t help.
Yet Arsenal have City old-boys Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus among attacking options.
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But the idea of Arsenal trying to slug it out, toe-to-toe, is probably wishful thinking.
We should all be prepared for another clash of the tight ’uns.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
