Arsenal vs Manchester City: 5 things to know ahead of the Premier League clash

Arsenal and Manchester City are set to lock horns in a Premier League fixture at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Arsenal and Man City are the current top two teams of the 2022-23 Premier League. The Gunners have 51 points from 21 matches and are three points ahead of the second-placed Man City. A win in North London on Wednesday would see Pep Guardiola's City climb to the top of the league table, but the defending champions would have played a game more than Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

While Man City secured a comfortable 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Arsenal's lead in the league table took a hit as they were held at a 1-1 draw by Brentford.

City have won the league title in four out of the last five Premier League seasons and ahead of the crucial trip to the Emirates Stadium, head coach Guardiola said that his side will fight "until the last day" to defend their title.

"We will defend this until the last day, this title. The biggest motivation is I don't want to drop the Premier League, just because we weren't who we are. If they (Arsenal) beat us because they were better, I would be the first to congratulate them as I always have done in our career. Not because we are not there. We want it to be a fight for them to take it from our hands, but it's still in our hands," Guardiola told reporters, according to Manchester City.

5 things you must know ahead of Arsenal vs Man City

Arteta vs Guardiola

Arteta graduated from Barcelona's La Masia academy, a decade after Guardiola. The two Spanish midfielders-turned-head coaches have been good friends for years. After Arteta brought the curtains down to his playing career, he took up a job as Guardiola's assistant at City. The two together engineered two Premier League title victories as well as triumph in an FA Cup and two League Cups.

In 2019, Arteta moved away from Guardiola's shadow and became Arsenal's head coach. The Gunners, who have not won the Premier League since the 2003-04 season, are currently at the top of the league table, showing Arteta is heading in the right direction.

Man City's significant dominance

Arsenal's recent league record against City is nothing short of embarrassing for the 13-time Premier League winners. Going before the arrival of Arteta and stretching back into the management days of Arsene Wenger, the Gunners have failed to edge past the Etihad side in the English top flight. Man City have not lost a league game to Arsenal since 2015, winning the last 10 matches by an aggregate score of 26-3, including Rodri's added-time winner in North London during the last campaign.

Arsenal are due to face City twice in the league in the remainder of the 2022-23 season. Arteta needs to find a solution to turn the tables around this time if he wants to keep Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Will Erling Haaland play in Arsenal vs Man City?

City's in-form striker Haaland was substituted at half-time during their 3-1 victory at Villa Park as a precaution after he suffered a big knock in the first half. He collided with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and appeared to have taken a blow to his thigh. Ahead of the crucial meeting with Arsenal, Guardiola would want to have Haaland in his starting line-up.

The Norwegian striker has netted 25 goals and four assists in 21 Premier League matches for City in the current season. Overall, the Norwegian forward has 31 goals in 29 games in all competitions.

Recent form

The Gunners have suffered a dip in form at the wrong time as they have two draws and a defeat in their last five Premier League outings. But City are also not behind as they have lost twice in their previous five league games. One could expect City to head into the Arsenal game with a slight edge considering they have three wins from their last five fixtures to Arsenal's two victories.

Two ex-City players

Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has been in good form since moving from City to Arsenal in the summer. Two of City's players joined Arsenal in the summer of 2022: striker Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko. They brought along a part of Man City's title-winning experience and mentality to Emirates Stadium.

Haaland's compatriot

Arsenal would want their attacking midfielder Martin Ødegaard, who is Haaland's compatriot, to bring his A-game on Wednesday. The Norwegian midfielder is Arsenal's leading scorer this season with eight goals. He has also provided six assists. Ødegaard has contributed with two goals and two assists in Arsenal's last six league games.