Along with Rice: Arteta must unleash Arsenal “wizard” who could terrorise City today

Wake up, Gunners fans, today’s the big day. Arsenal defeated Tottenham Hotspur down at N17 last weekend to return to winning ways in the Premier League, but know that this one is a test of a different nature.

Arsenal travel up north to face Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium, having claimed three wins and a draw to start their league season off on strong footing.

Mikel Arteta lost each of his first seven clashes against Pep Guardiola, but the pre-eminent manager failed to defeat his former protege home and away last year, with Arsenal winning at home before holding City to a goalless draw in the reverse.

For the champions, Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake are long-term absentees, though Kevin De Bruyne ‘could’ feature after sustaining a knock in midweek, while Rodri started for the first time against Inter Milan and Phil Foden entered after the interval as he returns to full fitness.

It won’t be easy, with Arsenal nursing a few issues of their own…

Arsenal team news

Martin Odegaard will not feature in Manchester, with the club captain and two-time Arsenal Player of the Season sidelined with an ankle sprain and not expected to return for the foreseeable future.

How to solve this problem is something that Arsenal will gain a deeper understanding of across the coming weeks, but the return of Declan Rice will be vital for this one, with the England international missing out against Spurs after picking up a contentious red card before the international break.

Summer signing Mikel Merino is joined by former City star Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney on the sidelines, but the visitors bring a strong core of available talent to the game.

Rice’s return will be one of the most important parts of the clash, though…

Declan Rice’s return could be key

Thank goodness Rice is going to return to the starting line-up. The club’s record £105m signing was controversially sent off against Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break for ‘kicking’ the ball away, but Arsenal still put Tottenham away despite Odegaard being absent too.

North London is well and truly painted in red. But the Premier League is sky blue and Arteta must ensure that his team do not fall against Man City, who have a perfect record in the division after four matches.

Rice started an impressed against Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday night (still weird, that), completing 93% of his passes, making two tackles and winning both of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.

He’s also got a big-game energy about him that could be crucial in looking to pounce and score late on, should the contest drag into the later stages with parity intact – as could very well be the case.

With Odegaard out, his return is all the more important. Rice is not a playmaker and nor is he a pass master of the same distinction as the Norwegian, but he is a robust midfielder and a supreme athlete, ranking among the top 11% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists claimed and progressive passes and the top 16% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.

Whoever he partners in the middle of the park will be better off for having the 25-year-old alongside them, even if he hasn’t hit his stride yet in 2024/25. Rice will energise and dynamise the engine room, but this is not the only change that needs to be enforced. Gabriel Martinelli is still flattering to deceive, and Leandro Trossard must receive a starting berth.

Arsenal must unleash Leandro Trossard

As the Arsenal squad steps out onto the Etihad turf, the obvious point of concern is subduing the indomitable goal machine Erling Haaland, who has ludicrously scored nine goals from four Premier League matches this season.

But Arsenal have one of the finest defences in Europe and will be confident that they can placate the striker’s hunger for goals. At the other end, though, the London side will need to be clinical and Trossard is the man to ensure that the away end is sent into rapture.

The Belgian joined from Brighton in a £27m transfer in January 2023 and has since established himself as one of the Premier League’s most ‘clutch’ attacking talents.

29 years old, Trossard is refined and boasts a tremendous prolific record for his outfit, clinching 19 goals and 12 assists across 73 matches, though only starting 37 of those outings.

The sharpshooting forward ranked among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last term for goals scored and the top 12% for shots taken per 90, emphasising the goalscoring quality that could be so vital in grasping later today.