Arsenal - Man City battle

No longer a battle for the throne

In the last two seasons, the confrontations between student and teacher, Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, have been decisive in the Premier League title.

Arsenal have been relentless in their attacks and pushed Man City to the limit for two seasons running, with Pep Guardiola's side both times winning the title at the last minute.

In the first leg of this season, the battle between them is also expected to be the key to deciding the English football championship title.

Since then, with a 2-2 draw at the Etihad and Rodri seriously injured, Man City have fallen into a state of astonishing collapse.

As Man City crumbled, Arsenal unexpectedly encountered another rival in the long-distance race: Arne Slot's Liverpool.

Liverpool have been near perfect, just like Pep's Man City in the last two seasons. Arne Slot's team has won 81.16% of the possible points after 23 matches, sitting comfortably at the top with a nine-point lead over Arsenal.

The Gunners are currently 2 points behind at the same stage last season. In the 2022/23 season, after 23 rounds, Mikel Arteta's team even won 54 points, 7 points more than now.

At 11:30 p.m. tonight, February 2, Arsenal and Man City will enter the battle with a very different meaning: The Gunners are determined to win to continue their hope of chasing Liverpool, while The Citizens need 3 points to secure the top 4 of the Premier League.

Winning is everything

Arsenal have gone 13 Premier League games unbeaten since losing at Newcastle in early November 2024. They have just finished the Champions League group stage in third place.

But these results will be meaningless if Arteta and his team do not beat Man City. If they lose, they will have given up hope of winning the championship, because the gap with Liverpool is 9 points and they have played 1 more game.

For their part, Man City have to fight for the modest goal of finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League. Moreover, Pep needs to win the big match to regain confidence before facing Real Madrid in the Champions League play-off round.

With 6 defeats after 23 rounds, Man City has the highest loss rate since the 2008/09 season (11 losses), the time when Abu Dhabi United Group appeared and bought the Manchester club.

In addition, 30 goals conceded is also the highest number since the 2009/10 season (33). A series of injured central defenders and the long-term absence of Rodri have made The Citizens more fragile than ever.

Win or nothing. Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta are both under pressure ahead of their meeting at the Emirates.