Arsenal vs Man City: Premier League – teams, start time, lineups

Who: Manchester City vs. Arsenal
What: English Premier League
Where: Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom
When: Sunday, September 21, at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 1:30pm (12:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.

When Manchester City travel to Arsenal, hoping to see some of its injured players return to their best form, they will make an effort to end a difficult week unhampered.

Liverpool defeated City last year to claim the title, while the Gunners finished second in the Premier League for the third time in a row.

Another English top flight title showdown is examined by Al Jazeera Sport.

What is Man City’s current Premier League performance?

City (2-2-0, 6 points) came out of the September international window in top form after a challenging start to the season.

Erling Haaland’s brace put an end to a two-game Premier League losing streak with a 3-0 victory away at home over Manchester United over the weekend.

Then, on Thursday night, Haaland and Jeremy Doku scored the winning goal at home against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, opening the season with a 2-0 victory.

As Pep Guardiola’s revamped squad begins its quest for a second league title, City are nine points behind leaders Liverpool in the early standings after beating Everton on Saturday.

However, Guardiola still places a premium on the overall development of his team rather than the match-by-match results.

He stated on Friday, “Seeing the team grow up is my only concern at this moment, making a step forward,” adding: “That is my only concern.” “We won’t win the Premier League on Sunday, and we won’t lose the Premier League on Sunday,” the statement read.

Erling Haaland scores the second goal for Manchester City against United, according to Phil Noble of Reuters.

Man City makes reference to Arsenal’s investment drive ironically.

Guardiola has suggested that Arsenal’s spending has not been subjected to the same scrutiny as it has been.

Arsenal’s side was strengthened by a close-season investment of more than 250 million pounds (337.3), while champions Liverpool spent more than 400 million pounds (538.6), including Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, for more than 100 million dollars (134.7 million).

The only thing I want to tell my friend Mikel Arteta is that if he wins the title, it will be because he spent money, not because he worked hard or with his players, Guardiola said in a sarcastic manner.

“It’s similar to Liverpool, too. Arne [Slot] will win it again because, you see, he spent a lot of money, right? Because not just Man City can [spend], is that correct?

Every club can do whatever they want for a long time, you know? Although I am aware of how they have been treated [to City], they do so because they do, and it’s fine.

In addition to the 180 million ($242.4 million) they invested in January, City spent about 150 million pounds ($202 million) during the transfer window’s final year.

What transpired during the same Arsenal-Man City game last season?

Guardiola’s side face a tough test on Sunday against an Arsenal side boosted by the close-season signings of Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, and Marten Zubimendi, after City lost 5-1 at The Emirates last season.

They have already surpassed the best teams in the Premier League and Europe in terms of effort, Guardiola said.

Arsenal are improving step-by-step, window-by-window, and [Arteta] found the club in a]certain] way.

He continued, referring to Arsenal’s Champions League semifinal success, “They made an incredible step forward last season in Europe,” adding, “They are for me the most solid team.”

Manchester City's Erling Haaland looks dejected after Arsenal's Thomas Partey scores their second goal — Erling Haaland of Manchester City appears unhappy after Thomas Partey scored the team’s second goal at Emirates Stadium last season.

What is Arsenal’s current Premier League performance?

At the end of August, Arsenal suffered a fiercely contested 1-0 reverse, which was decided by Dominik Soboszlai’s brilliant late free kick.

The Gunners’ (3-1-0, 9 points) have the only goal conceded this season under Mikel Arteta. They bounced back from the defeat on Tuesday with a 2-0 Champions League victory at Athletic Club in Bilbao, Spain, and a 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Arsenal are trying to stay under control when visiting Man City.

Arteta anticipates that Arsenal will take lessons from Myles Lewis-Skelly’s provocative celebration against Manchester City last year, which marked their first-ever title-winning encounter.

Lewis-Skelly, an Arsenal defender, copied Haaland’s zen goal celebration after scoring in the club’s 5-1 victory over Guardiola’s side in February.

The rivalries between Arsenal and City have become more and more fierce as they have finished just behind them in title fights in 2023 and 2024.

Following a frantic 2-2 draw at the Etihad earlier in the season, Haaland had taunted Arsenal boss Arteta by urging him to “stay humble.”

Lewis-Skelly, a teen, hasn’t started a game for Arsenal this season, and was criticized for his inflammatory celebration.

Before Sunday’s showdown, Arteta asked if he had spoken to his players about how they celebrated their goals. “Well, that was done, and that’s part of it.

There have been many celebrations or celebrations between many different teams in the past. We certainly learned from the experience, which is to learn and grow as well.

Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly clashes with Manchester City's Erling Haaland — [Molly Darlington/Reuters] Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, second right, and Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly clashed during the Manchester game last year.

news from the Arsenal team

After suffering a few broken bones, forward Bukayo Saka, midfielder Martin Odegaard, and defender Ben White are all likely to play for the Gunners this weekend.

According to Arteta, “Everything has been modified for them so far [in training].” There are still a few things to clear, and [Saturday] we’ll find out more about whether or not they are eligible to join the squad or whether or not they have a chance.

Saka hasn’t played since the second weekend due to a hamstring problem, which has allowed him to score 47 Premier League goals in the previous four seasons. However, the addition of striker Gyorkeres, who has so far scored three league goals for the team, has helped to manage his absence.

After suffering a head injury in a head-collision with teammate Gabriel Magalhaes, Gyokeres is expected to be able to return home after needing stitches. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus continue to be sidelined.