Arsenal vs Manchester City Lineups, Preview, Prediction & Odds

Arsenal vs Manchester City – a game that has built up some kind of rivalry over the last few years with it being teacher vs disciple in Pep vs Arteta as they have, along with Liverpool, been fighting for Premier League titles. With the title fights and the bite that Haaland’s “stay humble eh” or Lewis-Skelly’s celebration last year added to this matchup these two teams are now real rivals. The reverse fixture last season was Arteta’s first real victory to laud over Pep, with Arsenal thrashing City 5-1 at the Emirates. There was a gulf in class between the two sides that day, but since then City have re-tooled the squad significantly and have brought in some key new players to help them compete with Liverpool and Arsenal for the title again. Both teams enter this game off the back of wins last weekend, City particularly feeling good about themselves after embarassing Manchester United in a 3-0 win. Arsenal will look to keep pace with Liverpool or even take 1st place in the league if Liverpool don’t win on Saturday, whereas City will be looking to make this a 6 pointer in the title race to get themselves back in to the thick of things.

• Can Pep and City continue their winning ways and get revenge for last season’s 5-1?
• Can Arsenal prove they are firmly Liverpool’s greatest title rival over City?
• Will Saliba or Saka be fit enough to start for the Gunners?

Find out all of that and much more in our preview of Arsenal vs Manchester City. We have a match preview, live odds, predicted lineups, team and injury news, our score prediction and more for this GW5 matchup.

Match Details:

Fixture: Arsenal vs Manchester City

Stadium: Emirates Stadium

Date: Sunday 21st September

Kick-off: 4:30pm BST

Premier League Head-to-Head Record:

These two teams have had some incredibly memorable battles over the past few seasons. There was the Martinelli late goal to get Arsenal their first win over City in the Arteta era, which was the game that really started this rivalry after City dominated prior. Then last season the needle really kicked in, with a fiery 2-2 at the Etihad, ending with a late John Stones equaliser, then lead to the benches kicking off, Gabriel and Haaland getting into a scrap, the starters on both teams getting in multiple skirmishes and the famous “stay humble eh” from Haaland. You would have thought that would lead to an incredible rematch at the Emirates last season, but City were a shell of themselves by that point in the season and were struggling just to make top 5 for Champions League football. Arsenal demolished City 5-1 and showed there was a gulf in talent and physicality between the two teams.

Arsenal do have the slight advantage over their lasts 5 league meetings, with 2 wins for Arsenal, 2 draws and a 4-1 win for City in the 23/24 season.

Arsenal Manchester City Last 5 Premier League Results

02/02/25 - Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

22/09/24 - Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal

31/03/24 - Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal

08/10/23 - Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City

26/04/23 - Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal

Arsenal Overview and Form:

Arsenal have started the new season and their next title charge (after 3 failed ones) about as well as they could have hoped for, outside of a crushing defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. The performances against Liverpool and Manchester United were not great, but they at least left Old Trafford with all 3 points. Better performances against Leeds and Nottingham Forest that also concluded in wins for the Gunners will give them confidence. 3 wins out of 4 and 2nd place in the table (tied with Bournemouth and Tottenham on 9 points) is a good platform to build off.

Arsenal look absolute rock solid defensively as we would all expect. The back 5 is performing brilliantly, and we can’t forget about Mosquera who came in to cover for Saliba the last 2 games and performed admirably in his stead. Arsenal’s defence and their more defensive minded set up than other top teams was even difficult for Liverpool to create against. They are on track to be the best defence in the league once again.

Arsenal’s real issue the last 2 seasons has been chance creation from open play. They have performed like a mid table side in this area, and open play chance creation is almost a non negotiable for title winners over the past decade. All of the City and Liverpool teams that have won titles recently were the best open play chance creation teams in the league those seasons. Arteta and Arsenal hoped they had solved that problem with Saka returning to fitness plus adding Eze, Gyokeres, Madueke and Zubimendi. However, these issues aren’t entirely fixed by personnel, this is an Arteta set up issue and it is persisting, with Arsenal currently sitting 10th in the league for open play xG despite playing 3 bottom half teams in Leeds, Forest and United. Something to watch.

Arsenal have shown they can win in multiple ways so far this season, with thrashings in good performances and grinding out a win in a poor performance against United. Arteta will look to have them replicate this ability, by adjusting to whatever scenario this huge game presents. If Arsenal score early, they will look to show they can keep City out and hurt them on the counter. If City score early, they will look to show they can break good teams down when they need to. Overall, I think Arteta’s plan will be to dominate City physically, win all the duels and loose balls and to build pressure on a weak City defence while limiting transition opportunities. This will be Arsenal’s chance to show they have truly overtaken City in the Premier League hierarchy and keep pace with Liverpool by getting a win over their rivals.

Manchester City Overview and Form:

City have had an up and down start to the season. They started the season with an exciting 4-0 drubbing of Wolves where they looked like they might be back. Then 2 straight bad losses to Tottenham and Brighton, where all of their defensive frailties and the lacking physicality that ruined last season for them, reared its ugly head and it showed despite all of the new signings, this is still a weakness of the team. However, City and Pep got things back on track by picking up a big 3-0 win at the Etihad over Manchester United last weekend – and honestly it could have been 6-0 rather than 3-0.

City are definitely a scarier attacking unit this season with Reijnders in midfield, Ait-Nouri at left-back, Doku and Marmoush looking like they are primed to have better seasons than last, and Haaland back in peak Haaland goal scoring form. Where they have not necessarily improved or fixed their flaws is in midfield and the back-5. Rodri coming back in to the lineup helps but even he had to remind people he is not Messi – he does not solve major structural issues all by himself. Gvardiol and Donnarumma now being available should help City’s defense massively and Ait-Nouri’s injury might allow them to steady the defence so that when he comes back, they’re in a better place to cover for his defensive weaknesses. Can they find the balance of maintaining defensive solidity combined with attacking threat that will allow them to get a result against Arsenal? We will find out Sunday.

City have not quite shown the flexibility and ability to win any kind of game in the way Arsenal or Liverpool have so far this season, but this game is a great chance to end all of the negative talk, and put their name right back into the ring for this seasons Premier League crown. City will look to play around Arsenal’s press, and to establish some kind of territorial control and to quiet the Emirates crowd. Pep will hope they can protect against counter-attacks while Reijnders, Foden, Doku and Haaland are capable of hurting Arsenal’s defence without committing too many bodies forward. Pep will look to show on Sunday that this team is ready to go the distance with Liverpool and Arsenal this season.

Match Betting Odds:

Arsenal: 10/11

Draw: 14/5

Man City: 11/4

Both Teams to Score Odds:

Yes: 7/10

No: 21/20

Player to Score Odds:

Gyokeres: 1/1

Haaland 6/4

 

 

Lineups will be updated throughout the week in live time as and when injury and lineup news is announced.

Green Light: Confident the player will start.

Amber Light: A toss up on whether the player will start.

Red Light: Confident the player will not start.

To head back to our main predicted lineups hub, click here.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup:

Arsenal Predicted Lineup GW5

GK - Raya

RB - Timber

CB - Saliba

CB - Gabriel

LB - Calafiori

CM - Odegaard

CM - Zubimendi

CM - Rice

RW - Madueke

ST - Gyokeres

LW - Eze

Arsenal Team & Injury News:

Mikel Arteta on Friday, speaking on Saka, Odegaard and White’s injuries revealed “If there is a chance [they will play], it will be after tomorrow’s session, because we haven’t done anything yet, so we’ll have more information tomorrow. There are still a few things to clear up. Tomorrow, we’ll have more information on whether they are part of the squad or not.” Not much actually revealed from Arteta here and we know he is coy with his words and often straight up misinforms the media on injuries. I would expect Odegaard and White to be the much likelier candidates to make the squad and Saka to miss out at least one more week minimum. None of the three were in the squad for Bilbao on Tuesday so all are legitimate doubts.

Arteta informed the media, speaking about Saliba, that “Let’s see. Obviously, he’s been carrying a head injury, and he didn’t really want to be available for the last match. He’s really pushing it, so we will decide tomorrow what’s the best start”. Head injuries are now prioritised in sport as injuries to take caution with, but given Saliba made the squad for Bilbao, I would think he should be okay to start 4 days later.

With Saka having suffered two fairly serious hamstring injuries in the past 9 months, Arsenal and Arteta will air on the side of caution. I would expect Saka to return in GW6 in the best case scenario.

Calafiori looks to have made the left-back role his own. However, with the signing of Piero Hincapie who has played left-back and left wing-back for Bayer Leverkusen, Calafiori’s starting place is slightly less certain long term, but for now he is the starter.

Rice, as far as we know, was simply just rested against Forest, and came off the bench in the second half. No injury or benching concerns and he will start against Man City in Merino’s place.

With Saka out, Eze, Gyokeres and Madueke will be the 3 starting forwards once again. Madueke was particularly impressive against Forest, giving Toffolo a torrid time.

Arsenal Players to Watch:

Saliba: Made the bench for the game against Bilbao on Tuesday – should be fit to start this weekend but Friday training will be key

Saka: Did not make the Bilbao squad. Likely to miss the Man City game despite Arteta suggesting he could possibly be in contention.

Mosquera: As good as he has been, if Saliba is fit he will drop to the bench.

Eze: Despite a poor performance at left-wing against Bilbao, and Martinelli coming on and scoring the opener, you have to think Arteta knows how much better Eze is than Martinelli and will persist with him at left-wing.

Rice: He did not start last weekend due to having 3 games in 7 days. He will start against Man City.

White: Back in contention, could be fit for Sunday.

Hincapie: Won’t start Sunday.

Manchester City Predicted Lineup:

Manchester City Predicted Lineup GW5

GK - Donnarumma

RB - Khusanov

CB - Dias

CB - Gvardiol

LB - Ake

CM - Rodri

AM - Reijnders

AM - Foden

RW - Silva

LW - Doku

ST - Haaland

Manchester City Team & Injury News:

In his Friday press conference, Guardiola spoke about Rodri’s ability to play 3 games in one week, which he would do if he starts on Sunday. Guardiola revealed “We see day by day, but be ready for games. Yesterday, for example, the training session, he didn’t feel comfortable, he did not feel good but said ‘No, no, I’ll be fine tomorrow’ and played extraordinary, like Rodri is… And with him on the pitch we feel more comfortable. But, of course, after injury you have to be alert and we will decide on Sunday how he does feel”. While Guardiola does suggest Rodri struggled with the demands of what it takes to even play twice in a week leading up to the Napoli game, Rodri started and made it through fine. It is very hard for me to believe Guardiola won’t start his most important midfielder in one of the hardest games of his season. Rodri will start.

Speaking last Friday before the Manchester derby, Pep Guardiola revealed that Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and John Stones will be out for the Manchester derby if not longer. Guardiola revealed “Omar is injured from Egypt. A few weeks I think (he will be out). Before the international break he will be ready… Ait-Nouri and Cherki. Stones as well is a doubt. Not a big issue but he’s a doubt for Sunday. The rest are fine”. 

None of those 3 aforementioned injured players made the squad for Napoli on Thursday. Ait-Nouri we knew would not as he is out for 5 weeks. Marmoush was also a long shot, but there was hope Stones would return and he did not. Stones will likely make the bench at best against Arsenal.

Ait-Nouri’s ankle injury is reportedly going to keep him out around 5 weeks. Thankfully for City, Gvardiol returned to the starting lineup in GW4. I think Ake comes in to play left-back over O’Reilly, to give City better size and strength against Arsenal. Experience in a match like this is also key. Ake is a good 1 on 1 defender and solid aerial presence which you need against Arsenal’s physicality and set pieces. The other option would be to shift Gvardiol to left back, with Dias and Stones at centre-back if Stones is fit enough to start.

Donnarumma started in the 3-0 win over Manchester United in GW4 and will continue to be City’s starting GK. City players and Guardiola have been heaping praise onto the Italian after the 2 games he has started and City have won. The praise has centered around his presence, his shot stopping and ability to go long and help City switch up their build up sometimes. Trafford is now clearly the number 2.

Rayan Cherki has a quadriceps tear and has been ruled out for around 2 months. A big blow to City especially after a slow start to the season and back-to-back losses. Foden returned to the starting lineup and put in his best performance in over a year, and opened the scoring against United.

Doku will start at left-wing while Marmoush is out, and had a very good Club World Cup and played well against United, setting up Foden’s goal with a wonderful dribble and cross (on the second attempt). Savinho returned to the squad and game action with a cameo off the bench against United, and is certainly an option to start against Arsenal at right-wing. He caused the Gunners a lot of trouble in this same fixture last season.

Manchester City Players to Watch:

Donnarumma: City’s new number 1. Not even a question anymore.

Gvardiol: Returned to fitness and started in GW4 against Man United. Started against Napoli. Will start at centre-back alongside Dias.

Khusanov: Will start at right-back again as he has in City’s last 2 games.

Ake: Pep will want a more defensively solid player than O’Reilly against Arsenal.

Foden: Had his best games in over a year against United and Napoli. Should start.

Doku: Will start left-wing until Marmoush returns.

Ait-Nouri: Out 5 weeks (ankle)

Savinho: Returned to squad in GW4 and made cameo off the bench. Could start against Arsenal.

Stones: Did not make the squad last weekend or for Napoli. Likely to miss out.

Marmoush: Out multiple weeks (knee)

Arsenal vs Manchester City Preview & Predicted Score:

Arsenal will set up in their usual 4-3-3. Pep is the more likely manager to shift the system or try something riskier tactically for a specific game, but that has failed him many times in big games in the past. I expect him to stick to the 4-1-2-3 he has been using this season.

After Arsenal’s somewhat tepid display against Athletic Bilbao in midweek, Arsenal will look to put on a much better display against City. Especially from an attacking standpoint, against a City defence that had been exposed by Brighton and Spurs as still prone to mistakes and poor defensive decision making, and a midfield that can be physically overwhelmed. Defensively they will believe they can hold City from scoring, especially at home.

City will look to show they will not be easily dominated in midfield, particularly with Rodri back and fit, and to show Arsenal won’t create high quality chances easily against them. That is the way they will earn their right to play their own brand of football in this game, by being on top of things defensively, and then they can start to control tempo and the ball, establish territory and then to pick the defence apart – which will be incredibly difficult against this Arsenal defence but City are more capable. If Bilbao made better decisions in the final third against Arsenal on Tuesday, they would have scored – City won’t make those mistakes.

I think this is a game where both will play well, but will be somewhat cautious in the first half, and then things will open up in the second half. The first goal will be pivotal. City will have to be on point defending set pieces. Arsenal will have to be on point not only defending Haaland but by doing that, not creating too much space for Foden and Reijnders to hurt them. I feel this is an evenly matched game, by two teams who will feel confident. If any team does overwhelm the other and get the win, I think it would be Arsenal, but I have seen enough struggles this season creating from open play, that I don’t think they do thrash City like last season. This game will be much closer and I can see it being a tense final 20.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City