Arsenal vs Mancity preview

Arsenal Crumble Without Henry

As soon as Henry had signed on the dotted line for Spanish giants Barcelona, the British media predicted that Arsenal would crumble without their French talisman. Henry may have departed for La Liga, but not a lot appears to have changed for the Gunners. Jens Lehmann gifted Fulham an early goal at the Emirates (in a repeat of last seasons home form of giving the away team the advantage), before coming through in the end with a late display. Then a week later moaned about Blackburn's overly 'physical' approach at Ewood. Sounds like the same Arsenal as last season but without Henry.

Wenger knows that Arsenal should have a 100% record, if it wasn’t for another awful Lehmann howler at Ewood Park, where he gifted their opposition a goal for the second week running. The veteran keeper picked up an injury midweek whilst playing for Germany, and you have to ask has that saved Wenger the job of axing him?

Last season Wenger blamed his seasons abrupt end on injuries to key players, and it seems like he is being plagued with the same problem again this season. Whilst this may be the case, the Gunners look stronger than last season, and have more strength in-depth – plus his young charges have an extra seasons experience under their belt. Arsenal look to have shrugged off Henry’s departure, and in Bendtner, van Persie, and Eduardo, have more than enough firepower to replace his goals.

City In Dreamland

Man City are in dreamland. Sven’s charges have 100% record, are yet to concede a goal, sit top of the Premiership, and to top it all off have won the ultimate prize by winning the Manchester derby. What a stark contrast to how they finished last season, when they went six leagues games without a win (and even flirted with the possibility of relegation at one point). How much should we read into this early season form?

On the opening day against West Ham, the Hammers just rolled over and gifted City the three points. Looking back at their 1-0 victory against Derby, it does not seem that impressive, especially after Spurs steamrolled over them 4-0. City might have had a rare victory in the Manchester derby, but even Sven has admitted that they rode their luck during the match

City fans will be hoping that Sven’s dream start will continue at the Emirates, but there will come a time when they will have to take a reality check, and that could come a lot sooner then they think. They head into this fixture aiming for a first away league win over the Gunners since 1975! Sven will definitely need some more luck to break City’s awful record in North London.

Lies Damned Lies And League Tables

Both sides have enjoyed a successful start to the season, with each team enjoying victory in their opening Premiership matches - Arsenal at home to Fulham and City away to West Ham. Then in midweek the Gunners enjoyed a successful European outing to Prague, and City scored their first home league goal since New Years Day as they battled past a resilient Derby. City followed that up with a derby win over visiting United, but the Gunners had to settle for a point at Blackburn, thanks to another Lehmann howler. Arsenal and City enter this clash sitting fourth and first in the table respectively, but does that actually mean anything?

At this early stage of the season you should try to avoid looking at the league table, and wait a good few matches to get a clear picture of how the season could pan out. It is mainly the media, which hype up and write about the early league tables, and you have to remember at the same stage last year, the top four comprised of Man Utd, Everton, Portsmouth, and Aston Villa (and two of those clubs did not even qualify for Europe).

Remember that at some point in the season, every club goes through a run of three wins, or two draws and a win. Basically the league table can be very misleading, as it does not take into account the level of opposition each team has faced. Sven has had a good start with City, but only a dreamer would envisage them in the same league position next May, and it is more than likely that Arsenal will be in a similar position to where they are now.

FORM GUIDE

Arsenal

19 August v Blackburn Rovers (A) DREW 1-1 (Prem)

15 August v Sparta Prague (A) WON 2-0 (CL Q3/1)

12 August v Fulham (H) WON 2-1 (Prem)

13 May v Portsmouth (A) DREW 0-0 (Prem)

6 May v Chelsea (H) DREW 1-1 (Prem)

Manchester City

19 August v Manchester United (H) WON 1-0 (Prem)

15 August v Derby County (H) WON 1-0 (Prem)

11 August v West Ham United (A) WON 2-0 (Prem)

13 May v Tottenham Hotspur (A) LOST 2-1 (Prem)

5 May v Manchester United (H) LOST 1-0 (Prem)

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal:. At this early stage in the season Wenger must be praying that no more players visit the treatment room as Emmanuel Adebayor (groin), Abou Diaby (ankle), Denilson (ankle), Tomas Rosicky (knee), Emmanuel Eboue (ankle), and William Gallas (groin) are all out. Jens Lehmann aggravated an existing Achilles injury whilst representing Germany at Wembley, and is also added to the list of notable absentees.

Squad: Almunia, Fabianski, Clichy, Sagna, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Fabregas, Hleb, Flamini, Walcott, Song, Gilberto, Bendtner, van Persie, Eduardo.

Last Starting XI (v Blackburn Rovers): Lehmann, Clichy, Toure, Gallas, Sagna, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Walcott, van Persie, Eduardo.

Manchester City: Sven-Goran Eriksson is more fortunate than his counterpart, and only has two injuries within his squad. Long term absentee Andreas Isaksson (hand) is still ruled out, and new signing Valeri Bojinov  is ruled out for five months after suffering a knee ligament injury against Manchester United.

Squad: Schmeichel, Hart, Ball, Onuoha, Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Johnson, Petrov, Hamann, Ireland, Geovanni, Elano, Bianchi, Mpenza.

Last Starting XI (v Manchester United): Schmeichel, Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Johnson, Petrov, Hamann, Geovanni, Elano, Bojinov.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Arsenal:– Robin van Persie – Asking any player to step into Henrys shoes is a massive task, but the young Dutchman has all the qualities to carry on where the Frenchman left off. The 2006/07 season was the season that van Persie started to show his full potential. He put in some excellent performances, as he scored 11 goals in 22 starts, prior to picking up an injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season in January. The Dutchman has started this season as he finished last season, scoring two goals in his first two appearances, and he will be key to unlocking a tight City defence.

Manchester City:– Micah Richards– Last season Richards established himself as a regular at Eastlands, and made the right back position his own. This season Sven has employed the athletic defender at the heart of the defence, alongside Irishman Richard Dunne. Richards received all of the plaudits after City’s 1-0 derby win over United, and in midweek he impressed again filling in at right-back for England, and provided the assist for Frank Lampards goal. Richards athleticism will be key in stopping a very fast and mobile Gunners attack.

PREDICTION

Arsenal 2–0 Manchester City

Arsenal have won seven of their last eight home games against City, and you have to go all t