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Who: Arsenal vs Manchester Metropolis
What: English Premier League
The place: Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom
When: Sunday, September 21, at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
How one can observe: We’ll have all of the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 1:30pm (12:30 GMT) prematurely of our reside textual content commentary stream.
Manchester Metropolis will attempt to end a difficult week unblemished once they go to an Arsenal aspect hoping to see a few of its injured stars return to match health.
Metropolis have been dethroned as champions by Liverpool final season, following 4 successive title wins, whereas the Gunners have completed second within the Premier League for 3 consecutive years.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a have a look at one other early-season title showdown within the English high flight.
How are Man Metropolis shaping up within the Premier League this season?
After a tough begin to the season, Metropolis (2-2-0, 6 factors) returned from the September worldwide window in spectacular kind.
Final weekend, Erling Haaland’s brace propelled Metropolis to a 3-0 home win over Manchester United, a outcome that halted a two-match Premier League shedding streak.
Then on Thursday night time, Haaland and Jeremy Doku scored after halftime in a 2-0 house victory over reigning Serie A champions Napoli to open their UEFA Champions League marketing campaign.
Metropolis are 9 factors behind leaders Liverpool, who beat Everton on Saturday, within the early standings as supervisor Pep Guardiola’s reworked squad begins its bid to win one other league title.
Guardiola, nonetheless, continues to be inserting essentially the most significance on his squad’s general growth in the meanwhile, somewhat than the match-by-match outcomes.
“Seeing the workforce rising up, that’s my solely concern proper now, making a step ahead,” he mentioned on Friday. “We’re not going to win the Premier League on Sunday, and we’re not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday.”
Man Metropolis factors to irony of Arsenal’s funding drive
Guardiola has instructed Arsenal’s spending has not been held to the identical degree of scrutiny.
Arteta’s Arsenal aspect have been bolstered by a close-season outlay exceeding 250 million kilos ($337.3m), whereas champions Liverpool spent greater than 400 million ($538.6m), together with greater than 100 million ($134.7m) every on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
“The one factor I wish to say to my pal Mikel Arteta is, if he wins the title, it will likely be simply because he spent cash, not as a result of he labored exhausting or due to his gamers,” Guardiola mentioned tongue in cheek of his former Metropolis assistant coach.
“It’s like Liverpool, too. If Arne [Slot] wins it once more, it will likely be as a result of he spent some huge cash, proper? As a result of it’s not simply Man Metropolis that [spend], proper?
“For a lot of, a few years, each membership can do no matter they need, you realize? I understand how they’ve been handled is totally completely different [to City], however what they wish to spend is as a result of they need it and it’s high quality.”
Metropolis spent about 150 million kilos ($202m) within the close-season switch window, including to the 180 million ($242.4m) they invested in January.
What occurred in final season’s corresponding Arsenal-Man Metropolis conflict?
Metropolis suffered a 5-1 defeat at The Emirates final season, and Guardiola mentioned his workforce face a stiff problem on Sunday in opposition to an Arsenal aspect bolstered by the close-season signings of Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Martín Zubimendi.
“They spent what they imagine they’ll to compete in opposition to the perfect groups within the Premier League and Europe, and so they’ve reached that degree,” Guardiola mentioned.
“[Arteta] discovered the membership in a [certain] method and step-by-step, window-by-window, Arsenal are getting higher.
“Final season in Europe, they made an unimaginable step ahead, and they’re for me essentially the most strong workforce,” he added, referring to Arsenal reaching the Champions League semifinals.
How are Arsenal shaping up within the Premier League this time period?
Arsenal’s solely defeat up to now got here at Liverpool on the finish of August in a tightly contested 1-0 reverse determined by Dominik Soboszlai’s sensible late free kick.
That’s the solely purpose Mikel Arteta’s Gunners (3-1-0, 9 factors) have conceded this season. They rebounded from the defeat with a 3-0 house win in opposition to Nottingham Forest within the league final weekend and a 2-0 Champions League victory at Athletic Membership in Bilbao, Spain, on Tuesday.
Arsenal search to maintain their cool for Man Metropolis’s go to
Arteta expects Arsenal to study from Myles Lewis-Skelly’s provocative celebration in opposition to Manchester Metropolis final season when the title rivals conflict for the primary time on this marketing campaign.
Arsenal defender Lewis-Skelly mocked Metropolis striker Haaland by copying his zen purpose celebration after scoring within the Gunners’ 5-1 rout of Guardiola’s aspect in February.
With Arsenal falling simply brief in title fights with Metropolis in 2023 and 2024, the rivalry between the golf equipment has grown more and more acrimonious.
Haaland had taunted Arsenal boss Arteta by urging him to “keep humble” following a stormy 2-2 draw on the Etihad Stadium earlier final season.
Teenager Lewis-Skelly, who has not began a recreation for Arsenal this season, was criticised for his inflammatory celebration.
Requested if he had spoken to his gamers about their purpose celebrations earlier than Sunday’s showdown, Arteta informed reporters, “Effectively, that was finished, and that’s a part of it.
“There have been quite a lot of celebrations or non-celebrations up to now from quite a lot of groups. The expertise is to study and develop as properly, and we actually learnt from that.”
Arsenal workforce information
There’s a probability that ahead Bukayo Saka, midfielder Martin Odegaard and defender Ben White may all take part this weekend for the Gunners after latest accidents.
“Every thing has been modified up to now for them [in training],” Arteta mentioned of the trio. “There are nonetheless just a few issues to clear, and [Saturday,] we’ll have extra info on whether or not they’re a part of the squad or if they’ve an opportunity to be a part of the squad.”
Saka, who scored 47 Premier League objectives throughout the earlier 4 seasons, has not performed for the reason that second weekend because of a hamstring challenge. Nevertheless, Arsenal’s reinforcements have helped climate his absence, together with striker Gyorkeres, who has a team-high three league objectives up to now.
Gyokeres is anticipated to be out there after needing stitches for a head damage sustained following a conflict of heads with teammate Gabriel Magalhaes. Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz stay sidelined.
Man Metropolis workforce information
England worldwide John Stones may return to the again line following muscular discomfort that has saved him out of the aspect.
Rayan Cherki stays out with muscle points, whereas Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are additionally absent.
Arsenal predicted beginning lineup
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Manchester Metropolis predicted beginning lineup
Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri, Silva, Reijnders; Foden, Haaland, Doku
Arsenal kind (all competitions)
W W L W W
Manchester Metropolis kind (all competitions)
W L L W W
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