The huge Asterix on Mikel Arteta’s tenure at Arsenal is the distinct lack of trophies. Aside from an FA Cup and a Community Shield, the Spaniard hasn’t won nearly as much as he would’ve wanted. Arsenal are technically still on course for the quadruple and they can take the first step today. Of course Manchester City stand in their way. Let’s see what Manchester City will offer.

Form

We all know what Manchester City will offer, but here’s a little deep dive beyond being our ‘title competitors’. What’s easy to know is that they’re 2nd in the league. They sit nine points behind Arsenal, but they do have a game in hand. They’ve drawn their last two league games, which has allowed Arsenal to push the gap wider. The draws came against West Ham and Nottingham Forest. If we take those draws and place the amongst results in other competitions, then it’s just one win in their last five games. That win came against Newcastle in the FA Cup. Over the course of these five games, they lost twice to Real Madrid. The aggregate totalling 5-1. They were well and truly thumped.

However, City are City and Pep Guardiola won’t just sit back and accept that this season is over. Despite getting kicked out of the Champions League and nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League, there’s still the EFL Cup and FA Cup to win. He’s a serial winner and he’ll go all out to win a domestic double. It’s important to remember that prior to the Nottingham Forest draw, the Citizens had won six in a row. In fact, before losing to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, they were unbeaten since January 24th. So, Pep’s men are still incredibly dangerous and we can’t lose sight of that.

Absences

Despite being the only two sides that were competing in all four competitions, well until City crashed out to Madrid in the week, there is hardly any absences among them both. Arsenal have Mikel Merino as a long term absentee, while City have Josko Gvardiol out. However, he’ll be back next month according to reports. Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard were doubts for the tie, but they’ve both been pictured in training and will likely link up with the squad. City’s only other player missing will be Marc Guehi, as he’s ineligible. For both managers, they have an almost full roster to choose from.

Player to Watch: Rayan Cherki

City have a plethora of players to watch out for, but Cherki is always someone who makes things happen. There’s actually no guarantee that he’ll start as Antoine Semenyo has been getting the nod over him. But, we can assume that he’ll feature at some point. Out of 25 matches in the Premier League, he’s grabbed three goals and eight assists. Across all competitions he’s featured 40 times and has a combined total of 19 goals/assists. However, he’s been used sparingly since Semenyo arrived. The French international has only one assist in his last 10 games, but his level of performance warrants a higher total. Whenever I’ve watched City play and they’re struggling to break a team down, Cherki will come on and open the game up. This is why he’s created the most big chances at the club and is top three for general chances created. He has an average match rating of 7.29, which is very impressive. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo, Bernardo Silva and the rest will all carry a threat. But, I have my eye closer on what Cherki’s doing.

City Predicted Lineup

It’s genuinely so hard to predict what Pep will do with his side tomorrow. What you see above is what he could potentially go for. He’s already stated that James Trafford will start, honouring his contribution in the EFL Cup until this point. They won’t have Guehi, so three of the four defenders will almost be guaranteed. Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov will take three of the slots, but it’s whether Pep opts for Nico O’Reilly or Rayan Ait-Nouri. I think he’ll go for O’Reilly due to how well he played against Arsenal earlier in the season. Rodri will definitely start then it’s anyone’s guess. Will it just end up being Haaland as the lone striker? Will Semenyo join him? Will Pep decide to bulk out the midfield with Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders? Will Phil Foden or Omar Marmoush start? This is the team that started against Real Madrid in the first leg, but with Savinho dropped for Cherki and Nunes coming in at right back so Khusanov can replace Guehi at centre back.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

I’ve adjusted my predicted lineup since my other post, as I think this will be closer to what we’ll see tomorrow. Kepa Arrizabalaga will likely get the nod as Pep is doing with Trafford. Jurrien Timber was seen in training, so I have a feeling he’ll start tomorrow. Especially as Jeremy Doku will be in at left wing. If we start with Timber, then our left back has to be the one that’s best on the ball and that’s Riccardo Calafiori. Timber can worry about battling Doku so Calafiori can provide some punch going forward. The midfield pairing will pick itself. Bukayo Saka definitely won’t be dropped for a final. After his performance midweek, Eberechi Eze will almost certainly start. He was also Crystal Palace’s hero in the FA Cup last season. I also think Mikel Arteta will go for Gabriel Martinelli due to his defensive contributions. He also has a good record against City, scoring the equaliser at the Emirates earlier in the season. Then it’s the decision of who starts out of Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres. I think Arteta will go for Havertz due to his technical superiority over Gyokeres. But, we still have the Swedish international in reserve. As we’ll also have Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Noni Madueke. Odegaard will likely be on the bench, with potentially Max Dowman joining him. But, I don’t think Dowman will be on the bench if Odegaard is back. Arsenal will have to leave three first team players out of the final team sheet if Odegaard is fit. That would be Dowman, Myles Lewis-Skelly and potentially Christian Norgaard. Besides, even if Odegaard misses out then you’d assume it’s only fair to call up Norgaard ahead of Dowman.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 2-1 City

Part of me buys into the belief that City aren’t what they used to be and that the Gunners are a superior force. However, the other part of me thinks that City are a wounded beast right now and it’s only a matter of time before they start fighting back. Whether that’ll be today or later on, it’s coming. I fancy our chances at Wembley as we do have a pretty good record there. It will be an extremely tough game and we’ll need to be on constant alert as they do have a better attack than us. However, City’s defence feels like we can get at them. Whether that’s through open play or a set piece, we’ll break them down eventually. Rise to the occasion, win the trophy and let the boys finally celebrate something. Heading into the international break with a trophy under their belts, a nine point advantage at the top, a very winnable quarter final trip Southampton in the FA Cup and a two legged affair with Sporting Lisbon. That would likely give this side a huge boost and another psychological win over City. Let’s get it!