Arsenal will welcome Nicolas Pepe back into the fold as the face defending Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday. The club has confirmed on their official website that the Ivory Coast international is available but a host of others are not.
Arsenal v Manchester City Preview
Team News
Nicolas Pepe sustaining a bruised knee against West Ham United and missed the trip to Standard Liege on Thursday. However, he has recovered and is available for selection against City.
The news is not so good for five other players. Granit Xhaka is not available after suffering a concussion against the Hammers and the club has not given a timetable for his return. Arsenal did confirm that Kieran Tierney will miss up to three months with a dislocated shoulder.
Both Hector Bellerin and Dani Ceballos will also miss out on Sunday’s match but should return to training next week. Rob Holding, meanwhile, is hopeful of returning to training in the next two weeks.
Manchester City have at least two injury issues to contend with ahead of their trip to Arsenal. Sergio Aguero and John Stones will both miss out due to thigh injuries and David Silva is questionable after suffering a knock midweek.
However, Ederson is available again after recovering from illness.
Prediction
Arsenal are winless in their last five matches against Manchester City and they also haven’t beaten City in the league in their last eight attempts. They did manage a victory against West Ham on Monday but City are simply a class apart from the Hammers.
Plus, the Gunners are winless in their last five matches at home across all competitions and recently ended a run of eight games without a win in the Premier League. Safe to say, all is still not well at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester City have struggled in their own right this season. They have lost four matches this season, the same number as they dropped all of last campaign. Pep Guardiola‘s haul of 32 points from 16 matches is also the fewest since he took charge of the club.
Still, the Light Blues of Manchester should easily handle the home side on Sunday as they have scored 44 goals this season, the most in the league, and face a squad with severe defensive deficiencies.
Predicted Score: Arsenal 1 Manchester City 3
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