Mikel Arteta must take bold attacking approach as Arsenal look to exploit Man City weakness | OneFootball

Latest chapter of growing Premier League rivalry is must win if Gunners want to stay alive in the title race

Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola have done their best to play down the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester City - but they aren’t fooling anyone.

After going down to 10 men just before half-time, Arsenal battled to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium and after the full-time whistle players from both teams exchanged words.

Erling Haaland was caught on camera telling Arteta to “stay humble” - a jibe the Arsenal manager insists he has not taken personally - and the Spaniard was keen to play down the friction between the sides when asked about it on Friday.

“Normal,” said Arteta, when asked how the rivalry has developed between Arsenal and City. “It’s two teams trying to win.”

Guardiola was equally dismissive, simply replying “no” when pressed on whether Sunday will be a grudge match.

The City boss described his relationship with Arteta as “exceptional”. Arteta shares that view, insisting it has not been affected.

“If it had, we wouldn’t have been on the phone talking to each other and messaging each other and deserving and willing to have the best,” said Arteta. “It wouldn’t happen.”

Arteta and Guardiola’s words only mean so much, though, and it is hard not to now view Arsenal and City as one of the great, modern Premier League rivalries.

The scenes at the end of the match in September were a throwback and conjured memories of Arsenal’s great clashes with Manchester United, when Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were in charge.

After the game, City players criticised Arsenal for their style of play, with Arteta’s side sitting deep throughout the second half as they tried, and ultimately, failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead.

City had 28 shots during the second half and 88 per cent possession. However, it was not until John Stones struck in the 98th minute that they rescued a point.

Circumstances forced Arsenal to defend deep last time out against City, but Arteta will surely be eager to go on the attack on Sunday.

This is not the same imperious City team that won a record-breaking four Premier League titles in a row and there has been a sense of vulnerability about them this season. Arsenal should look to exploit that and this weekend feels like a moment for Arteta to be bold.

The Gunners go into Sunday’s game looking to extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League, which stands at 13 games.

They have never had a longer undefeated sequence in the top-flight under Arteta, last going 14 matches without a loss between August and December 2018 - when Unai Emery was in charge.

Within this 13-game unbeaten run, though, there have been too many draws for Arsenal - five to be precise - and Sunday feels like a game they must win.

League leaders Liverpool are still within touching distance, but with each week the Gunners’ chances of catching them diminishes.

Arteta faces a number of big calls when it comes to his team selection. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who actually made his debut in the reverse fixture at the Etihad in September, is available after his red card from last weekend’s win at Wolves was overturned.

Lewis-Skelly famously squared up to Haaland on his debut, with the Norwegian retorting by asking: “Who are you?”

One suspects that Haaland knows who Lewis-Skelly is now as he is arguably Arsenal’s best left-back at the moment and deserves to start on Sunday.

A harder call for Arteta is whether he picks fellow academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old scored on his Champions League debut in Girona on Wednesday night to make it six goals for the season.

In the absence of Bukayo Saka, he has emerged as the best option on the right flank - but this would be a huge game in which to trust him.

Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard would offer more security on the right, especially defensively, against a City side who recently have shown a willingness to let their full-backs bomb on.

“It would be a big boost for us [to beat City], winning big matches is always something special,” said Arteta.

“Every time we play a big match against one of our big rivals it brings something extra - the confidence, the emotion, the fact that they are there and continue to win - for that we want to achieve. We really want to win.”