Having to settle for a score draw, and thus one point instead of three yesterday against Brentford, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked if the result now means that Wednesday night’s match with Manchester City has even more importance now.
“Every match is [important],” he said in his post match press conference. “That’s been the case for the last two months, and today it was a massive game for us. It was a big game, and we are disappointed because we wanted all three points.”
Arsenal vs Manchester City FYIs
Kick-off time: 6:30PM GMT, 15 February 2023, The Emirates
Team News: Manchester City Arsenal
Starting XI Predictions: Manchester City Arsenal
PL Form, Standing: Manchester City WLWWL 2nd, 48 pts Arsenal DLWWD 1st, 51 pts
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Manchester City 40% Arsenal 32% Draw 28%
On one hand, he’s right- every match counts. On the other hand, this is a massive match for league title implications, and we all know that already. You know that. He knows that.
So really, no additional hype needed for this one.
Arsenal Team News
Emile Smith Rowe has hit a set back in his recovery from a thigh/hamstring knock, and thus he missed out on the London derby stalemate yesterday. Therefore, he is a doubt for this one. Ditto for Reiss Nelson, who has resumed training but still needs time to build his way back to match fitness while he recovers from hamstring problem.
Otherwise there are no new fresh injury concerns.
Mohamed Elneny has now been ruled out for the season while Gabriel Jesus is now hitting it hard on the comeback trail. He should be back to action before the end of March, but he won’t be facing his former team in this one.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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