Arsenal v Man City LIVE commentary and team news: Gunners host champions in first Premier League clash of 2022 but will be without Mikel Arteta
Arsenal and Manchester City face off in the first Premier League clash of 2022 and it will be exclusively live on talkSPORT.
The new year in football is upon us and we’ve got a belter to kick things off.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host champions City with both sides hoping to continue their good form.
Arteta will miss the match after returning a positive test on Wednesday but his men will be hoping to claim a fifth straight top-flight win.
The north Londoners smashed Norwich 5-0 on Boxing Day but saw their game with Wolves called off on Tuesday.
City, meanwhile, followed up their big win over Leicester on the 26th by seeing off Brentford on Wednesday.
Another win for Pep Guardiola’s men will see them extend their lead at the top to eleven points.
Arsenal v Man City: talkSPORT commentary
This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, January 1.
It will be held at the Emirates and will kick off at 12:30pm.
This game will be live and exclusive on talkSPORT with coverage starting at 11am.
Reshmin Chowdhury will be your host and commentary will come from Sam Matterface and former England defender Alvin Martin.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2, click HERE for the live stream.
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Arsenal v Man City: Team news
As well as being without boss Arteta, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Cedric Soares, Calum Chambers and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are also out due to Covid.
Sead Kolasinac remains Arsenal’s only injury absentee due to his ongoing ankle issue.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is again unlikely to feature.
Man City have no players ruled out.
John Stones, Kyle Walker and Rodri will require late fitness tests following recent issues.
Arsenal v Man City: Could it be called off?
Arsenal have made no request to the Premier League to have their New Year’s Day fixture with City postponed following a number of positive Covid tests among their coaching staff.
Arteta will not be in the dugout for the visit of his former club after returning a positive test.
It is understood that Arteta is not alone in having to isolate with a number of his coaching team also testing positive.
One of Arteta’s assistant coaches, Steve Round, was absent from the dugout for the 5-0 win at Norwich while others are now also having to remain away from the training ground at London Colney.
Albert Stuivenberg, another of Arteta’s assistants, is currently taking training and is in line to lead the team into the game against league leaders City.
It is believed Arsenal are yet to appeal to the Premier League for the game to be called off, although there would be grounds to ask for the fixture to be postponed as staff are also included in the league’s guidelines for an application process to begin.
If Stuivenberg is the only first-team coach available to sit in the dugout at the Emirates as they look to stop City adding to their 10 consecutive league wins, the likes of academy manager Per Mertesacker could be asked to assist the Dutchman.
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Arsenal v Man City: Match facts
- Arsenal have lost their last nine Premier League games against Manchester City since a 2-2 draw in April 2017 – it’s their longest ever losing run against an opponent in their league history.
- Man City have won each of their last four away league games against Arsenal, by an aggregate score of 9-0. It’s as many victories as the Citizens had picked up in their previous 50 league visits to Highbury/Emirates Stadium combined (W4 D14 L32).
- Arsenal have failed to score in their last five Premier League games against Man City – only against Chelsea (6 between 2013 and 2016) and Liverpool (6 between 1997 and 2000) have the Gunners failed to score in more consecutive league games against an opponent.
- Manchester City have opened the scoring in the first 15 minutes in all five of their Premier League away games against Arsenal under manager Pep Guardiola, netting in the first two minutes in each of the last two seasons.
- Arsenal have only lost one of their last 10 Premier League games on New Year’s Day (W8 D1), going down 2-0 at Southampton in 2015. At home, the Gunners are unbeaten in 11 New Year’s Day games (W9 D2) since a 2-1 loss against Tottenham in 1985.
- Manchester City have won seven of their last eight Premier League games on New Year’s Day, with the exception being a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in their title-winning season of 2011-12.
- Arsenal have won each of their last five Premier League home games, keeping a clean sheet in each of the last four. They last won five in a row without conceding at home in the competition between January-April 1999.
- There have been 16 occasions of a team winning 10+ consecutive Premier League games, with Manchester City responsible for more of those than any other side (5). On each of the previous four occasions the Citizens have won 10 in a row in the competition, they’ve gone on to win their next game.
- Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances, and a goal here would make him the third youngest (21y 157d) player to score in five in a row in the competition for any side, after Nicolas Anelka in 1998 (19y 239d) and Jose Antonio Reyes in 2004 (21y 10d).
- Man City’s Raheem Sterling has scored in each of his last three Premier League away games against Arsenal. The only player to score in four consecutive Premier League away appearances against Arsenal is Nicolas Anelka, who did so between 2002 and 2009 (twice at Highbury with Man City, and at the Emirates with Bolton and Chelsea).
December 30, 2021 at 08:33PM Premier League Football Fixtures and Results - talkSPORT https://ift.tt/3u9h8Xr
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