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Tonight in the Premier League, Arsenal take on a Manchester City in a crucial Premier League clash.
The match at the Emirates kicked off at 8pm Arsenal are currently in second, five points behind Leicester City are in third, a point behind Arsenal Petr Cech could set a new Premier League record of clean sheets The Gunners' stopper is currently on 169 - level with David James TEAMS Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Campbell, Giroud. Subs: Gibbs, Gabriel, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chambers, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide. Man City: Hart, Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Toure, Delph, Silva, Aguero, De Bruyne. Subs: Sterling, Caballero, Bony, Jesus Navas, Clichy, Demichelis, Iheanacho. Follow the latest here...
Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger spoke up the importance of the match before kick-off: "It is a massive game. When we play at home, you want to win because we are ambitious and we feel we have the chance to come out in a strong position after Christmas.
Show all 11 1 /11Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Arsenal) A much tougher debate than in recent years following Cech’s arrival at the Emirates. Normally Joe Hart would have strolled into the side, but Cech’s form this season sees him oust the England international.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Defence: Hector Bellerin (Arsenal) Arsenal’s new pace merchant is reaping the rewards for what has been a very impressive start to the season. He still need to work on choosing the right time to bomb forward, but he takes the position ahead of Bacary Sagna by some margin.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Defence: Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) Normal circumstances would see Vincent Kompany have the centre-back berth locked down, but the captain has not played since the draw with Aston Villa on 8 November and will not return to face the Gunners. On the plus side for Mertesacker, he’s had a solid start to the season that sees Arsenal hold the best defensive record at present.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Defence: Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) Arsenal’s Mr Dependable at the back and the standout defender for the Gunners for the last four years, Koscielny easily beats off competition from City’s unreliable trio of Eliaquim Mangala, Martin Demichelis and Nicolas Otamendi.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Defence: Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) The only City defender to make the cut, this proved the toughest decision to make in the entire XI. Gael Clichy misses out having played just four times this season due to injury, but there isn’t much splitting Kolarov from Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal, who is enjoying a much improved season. Kolarov just sneaks it on the provision of being the more attacking option, with more shots on target, crosses and runs into the opposition half, although Monreal boasts better stats when it comes to tackles made, interceptions and successful passes.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Midfield: Yaya Toure (Manchester City) Toure will have to make do with a slightly deeper role but he still has to feature in the side. Had Santi Cazorla or Francis Coquelin been fit, the selection could have been up for debate, but Toure still retains the spark to do something out of nothing and change the game.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Midfield: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) Ramsey’s return to fitness has coincided with a move back to the middle of the park, and he is beginning to flourish as a result. The Welshman can be Arsenal’s most important player when he’s at his best, although his defensive awareness still needs improving and he would certainly give Messrs Wenger and Pellegrini nightmares seeing him alongside Toure in the same midfield.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Attacking midfield: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) It takes something special to keep David Silva out of the side, but De Bruyne is precisely that. The former Chelsea midfielder has taken to City like a duck to water, and he already has nine goals this season for the club along with another three for Belgium. De Bruyne could well prove to be the downfall of Arsenal tonight.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Attacking midfield: Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) The German World Cup winner has found his very best this season and leads the way in the Premier league when it comes to assists – his 13 is leaps and bounds ahead of second-place Gerard Deulofeu and Riyad Mahrez’s tally of 7 – and he simply can’t stop setting up goals this season. More encouragingly for Arsenal, Özil has also found his goalscoring boot recently, netting four goals since the 3-0 win over Manchester United in October.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Attacking midfield: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) Had he been fit, Alexis Sanchez would have likely slotted into the side in his place, but with the forward a serious injury doubt having missed the last month for the Gunners, we’re doing the opposite of Wenger and not risking the Chilean. A fully fit Sterling outmuscles a Sanchez nursing a delicate hamstring, and having scored eight goals this term, it’s not a bad thing to resort to.
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Arsenal vs Manchester City combined XI Striker: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) Olivier Giroud’s return to form puts him in with a strong shout for inclusion, having scored 11 goals in his last 14 matches. But Aguero, at his best, is unplayable and he’s bagged nine goals this term despite missing all of December so far as well as the last three weeks of October. However, he has been passed fit to return to start against Arsenal, and you wouldn’t count against him scoring a goal or two against the Gunners. Giroud’s failure to score in high-profile matches also rules against him.
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"It will be a very tight game because if you look at the numbers since the start of the season, offensively and defensively the numbers are very close.
"Manchester City has huge individual potential with David Silva and Sergio Aguero coming back and so we will need a top, top-level team performance."
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