Breaking Down the Starting Lineups for Arsenal vs Man City for Premier League title showdown as Partey misses out
Breaking Down the Starting Lineups for Arsenal vs Man City for Premier League title showdown as Partey misses out
For a Premier League fixture in mid-February, it’s hard to imagine higher stakes than Arsenal and Manchester City face when they meet at the Emirates Stadium in a midweek encounter.
The Gunners sit three points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand, but Man City can overtake the league leaders in this game with a win thanks to their big goal difference. Arsenal would still be in the driver’s seat, but the lead would shrink from eight points to three and the smaller gap would really flare up.
The Gunners have lost to Man City six times outright in all competitions and 13 of their last 14, while Mikel Arteta has not enjoyed early success against his former mentor Pep Guardiola, winning just once in six games all-time.
In surprise news for the squad, in-form Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been confirmed for the game with a muscle injury, a major blow for the Gunners just hours before kick-off
Arsenal vs Man City lineups, team news
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola could both be without their talismanic forwards for this match, but each club has the necessary depth to cope with the absences.
Arsenal have been forced to live without Gabriel Jesus for several months and Eddie Nketiah has come on big, scoring key goals for the club.
Meanwhile, Man City are sweating on the fitness of breakout star Erling Haaland, who is on pace to break the Premier League goalscoring record in a single season. Fortunately for Guardiola, Julian Alvarez is ready to step in when needed as the Argentine youngster was exceptional at the World Cup and filled in brilliantly when needed.
Below are the starting line-ups for both teams ahead of their match at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday 15 February.
Arsenal starting 11: Thomas Partey off
Arsenal line-up (4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale (GK) — Takehiro Tomiyasu, William Saliba, Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko — Martin Odegaard, Jorginho, Granit Xhaka — Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli.
Out: Gabriel Jesus, Mohamed Elneny, Emile Smith Rowe, Thomas Partey.
Suspended: None.
Long-term absentees Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Elneny remain out for this game and Emile Smith Rowe is still recovering from a thigh injury, but otherwise, Arsenal have a fully fit squad. Reiss Nelson has returned to training to recover from a hamstring problem, but this game may come a little early for the young winger.
Rumors began to circulate early on Wednesday that Thomas Partey was missing from Arsenal’s squad. Those fears were confirmed just hours earlier, meaning Jorginho will make his first start since joining from Chelsea on deadline day
Arteta caused a minor surprise at right-back, where Takehiro Tomiyasu was given preference over Ben White
