Manchester City v Arsenal- Sunday 18th December – City of Manchester Stadium (18:10)
Manchester City v Arsenal
The English Premiership is in full swing and the table is starting to take shape as the big guns all find themselves vying for the title. This weekend tosses up a mouth watering encounter between two teams that are in a rich vein of form and one can expect fireworks in this tie.
Manchester City have really stamped their authority on the Premiership this season, they have proved their critics completely wrong and look like a team capable of breaking the dominance of Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and lift their first league title. Roberto Mancini has an array of talent at his disposal and he has proved thus far that he knows how to handle his big names as he has adopted a rotation policy amongst his squad. The past week or so has not been one to remember for Man City as they were dumped out the Champions League and more recently ended their unbeaten run as they went down to fellow title contenders Chelsea on Monday night. Troublesome striker Mario Balotelli seems more focused at the moment and has been notching up some vital goals with assistance from fellow striker Sergio Agüero. However Man City’s danger man has to be the diminutive figure of Spanish playmaker David Silva as he has been at the heart of City’s attacks providing more assists than anyone else in the Premiership. Man City will be looking to bounce back after a dismal week and Mancini will be looking to rally his troops on.
Arsenal are in scintillating form as they have made a complete turnaround from their devastating start. They were the first English side to qualify for the Knockout phase of the Champions League, they have managed to get themselves back into title contender’s territory and have put together a 9 game unbeaten run in the league. Arsenal recently celebrated 125 years of the club’s establishment and Arsene Wenger yet again proved his love for the club by committing his long-term future. Wenger has proved once again that he is a real world class manager as he continues to get the best out of his players and keep that hunger for success going strong. Dutchman Robin van Persie is in outstanding form scoring 15 goals in 15 league matches and is breaking records every weekend. He is peeking at the right time and Arsene Wenger feels the Dutchmen has now matured drastically and that was the reason he made him captain. The Likes of Theo Walcott and Alex Song have also played vital parts for the Gunners as they provide the majority of assists.
Both teams are in great form, although Man City have had a bad week, they will be looking to get back to winning ways although Arsenal are in no mood to give up without a fight. The draw is favored in this clash.
