Arsenal and Manchester City went head-to-head at the Emirates in was an impossible game for Mikel Arteta’s men who did well to only lose 1-0.

Arsenal vs Manchester City, Gabriel Martinelli and Rodrigo, December 15, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal vs Manchester City, Gabriel Martinelli and Rodrigo, December 15, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal did well to keep the scoreline to 1-0 after going behind to an embarrassing Raheem Sterling header that saw the 5’7″ forward outfox Rob Holding.

From there, most feared the worst but after about 10 minutes Arsenal got to grips with a game that Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola seemed to agree should end 1-0 when they had their little half-time chinwag.

Manchester City are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table. 10 points clear of Manchester United in second place, they are 16 clear of current Champions Liverpool, who have shown that they cannot cope with injuries, with a game in hand.

Arsenal, meanwhile, sit some 25 points behind what many are calling Pepe Guardiola’s best Manchester City side, having lost five times the number of games.

The only thing comparable between the two is the number of goals conceded and that’s at a stretch. Only City and Chelsea have conceded fewer than Arsenal, but the Gunners have still shipped 11 more than City, who have also found the net 19 times more than Arsenal.

Then add into the mix that Arsenal haven’t beaten City in the Premier League since 21 December 2015 and you’d be better off playing at Casionchan than betting on Arsenal to get much from any games against City.

Arsenal last won both leauge games against Manchester City in 2015, something that has only happened once since 2008.

Between that win at the end of 2015 and 20 February 2021, Arsenal and City met 11 times in the league and Arsenal’s record is depressing as hell.

Played 11, lost nine, drawn two, conceded 32, scored seven.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal vs Manchester City, Mikel Arteta said, “I think they are the best team in Europe at the moment.

“The way they’re performing, the football they’re playing and their consistent results.

Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne gestures during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on February 17, 2021. (Photo by PETER POWELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne gestures during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on February 17, 2021. (Photo by PETER POWELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“What they’ve done is react to difficult moments. A big team has to be able to do that. When everyone was doubting their ability to be able to compete again and be the team that they are, they reacted in a really convincing way, all united, doing what they do best and being very consistent by winning games very comfortably.

“They have weaknesses like every team but at the moment teams have struggled a lot to find any of them. First of all defensively they’ve been really, really strong. They are without a doubt the best team at the moment. We have a big and a very exciting challenge ahead of us on Sunday.”

About the game, Arteta added, “That’s when we will define our season, if we are able to close the gaps in those games with them,” he said.

“It’s going to create some momentum for us and we’re going to get closer to them. We know that the margins for error are minimal with the season that we’ve had in previous months, so we need to kick on.

“We want to be us. It doesn’t matter who we play. I want to see a team that plays with the character and personality that we have shown in recent months. I want us to keep continue maintaining that line.

“If we do that, we will cause problems to any team. But we need to do that from the beginning. We obviously want to show other teams respect but still be true to ourselves.”