Man Metropolis vs Arsenal: Set-piece menace, utilizing Kai Havertz and shackling Erling Haaland key to Gunners’ method | Soccer Information

Manchester Metropolis beat Arsenal to the title final season however no opponent made their life tougher. With a 1-0 win on the Emirates Stadium and a goalless draw on the Etihad Stadium, the Gunners had been the one facet to take 4 factors off them.

Might they trigger extra issues for Pep Guardiola’s facet on Tremendous Sunday? The champions have taken most factors from their first 4 Premier League video games of the season, placing them two forward of their title rivals on the prime of the desk.

However Arsenal might be hoping to maintain them at bay for a 3rd consecutive sport, taking encouragement from how they shackled Erling Haaland final season, and understanding they’ve methods of doing injury offensively too, even with out the injured Martin Odegaard.

Sunday twenty second September 4:00pm


Kick off 4:30pm

Assaults and defences in contrast

Repeating final season’s efforts is not going to be simple for Arsenal, notably given the quick turnaround to the sport following Thursday’s Champions League exertions towards Atalanta in Italy.

Metropolis have had an additional day to arrange, having hosted Inter Milan of their Champions League sport on Wednesday, and have began the marketing campaign strongly, notably in assault. Having smashed 96 objectives on their solution to the title final season, 5 greater than Arsenal’s complete of 91, the champions have continued in the identical vein this time period.

With the nine-goal Haaland main the way in which, Metropolis have scored 11 objectives to date – three greater than some other facet. In addition they rank prime for anticipated objectives, photographs on track and probabilities created.

Their complete of 875 final-third passes is sort of 33 per cent greater than some other facet’s, underlining their dominance throughout their opening video games towards Chelsea, Ipswich, West Ham and Brentford.

Arsenal, in the meantime, have solely scored six objectives, from a relatively low anticipated objective complete of 4.99, which places them 14th amongst Premier League sides. Mikel Arteta’s facet additionally rank within the backside half by way of probabilities created and final-third passes.

Arsenal have in fact had the tougher fixtures, going away to Aston Villa and Tottenham whereas additionally enjoying nearly half of their dwelling sport towards Brighton with 10 males following Declan Rice’s sending off early within the second interval.

The Gunners will likely climb up the rankings because the season progresses and the fixtures develop into kinder. Proper now, although, Metropolis are means forward by way of attacking output and they’re posting spectacular underlying numbers defensively too.

Whereas they’ve conceded extra objectives than Arsenal, with three to the Gunners’ one, they rank greater by way of anticipated objectives conceded and photographs on track conceded, with Arsenal indebted to some wonderful saves from David Raya for preserving out their opponents.

The Spain worldwide carried his effective type into the Champions League on Thursday, his gorgeous double save proving key in Arsenal’s goalless draw with Atalanta, one other sport wherein Arteta’s facet have proven spectacular defensive resilience.

Because the begin of final season within the Premier League, they’ve conceded solely 30 objectives to Metropolis’s 37. Arsenal cleared the path for clear sheets too, with 21 to Metropolis’s 14.

How Arsenal locked out Haaland

Arsenal will goal to copy final season’s defensive shows towards Metropolis once they head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Metropolis, in addition to failing to attain in these video games, struggled to even create probabilities as Arsenal’s defensive energy got here to the fore.

The truth is, within the Emirates Stadium assembly in October, Metropolis registered solely 0.48 anticipated objectives, their third-lowest complete throughout Pep Guardiola’s 308 Premier League video games as their supervisor.

The scatter graph beneath hammers dwelling simply how successfully Arsenal suppressed their alternatives. The Gunners had been the one facet to carry Metropolis to below two anticipated objectives throughout their two video games, with Metropolis mustering a mixed complete of solely 16 photographs.

Haaland was beautifully contained by William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who proceed to go from energy to energy as a centre-back pairing able to successful bodily battles.

Final season, Metropolis’s away sport towards Arsenal was the one one all season wherein Haaland was unable to register a single shot, due to this fact scoring zero for anticipated objectives.

He had 4 photographs within the goalless draw on the Etihad Stadium however they had been price a mixed complete of solely 0.31 anticipated objectives, means down on his common, and none of them had been on track.

It was a pointy distinction from the earlier season, when Haaland scored in each video games towards Arsenal. That was, nonetheless, with Saliba lacking the 4-1 loss on the Etihad resulting from harm.

The Gunners have improved immensely in a defensive sense since then, their success towards Haaland final season summed up by the viral clip of Saliba going shoulder to shoulder with the striker on the Emirates, sending him sprawling to the turf.

That incident befell close to the midway line, however Arsenal are prone to sit deeper on the Etihad Stadium, placing our bodies behind the ball, as of their away wins over Spurs and Aston Villa this season, in a bid to frustrate Guardiola’s facet and additional restrict Haaland’s affect.

Arsenal’s offensive method

Arsenal have proved their capability to close out Haaland and Metropolis, then, however how might they harm them on the different finish of the pitch?

The lack of Odegaard’s creativity is a blow however his team-mate Kai Havertz is prone to play a key function as a goal for direct passes.

Final season, the Gunners made extra lengthy passes towards Metropolis than they did towards some other opponent, utilizing Havertz’s aerial and hold-up capability to bypass Metropolis’s press and get them up the pitch.

The effectiveness of the method shone by means of in Gabriel Martinelli’s winner on the Emirates, with Havertz teeing up the Brazilian following a protracted cross by Thomas Partey.

Arsenal may also look to trigger issues on the counter-attack.

Metropolis confirmed vulnerability on that entrance of their slim win over Brentford final weekend, and once more of their goalless draw towards Inter on Wednesday, once they gave up 10 photographs within the first half alone, with Simone Inzaghi’s facet capable of trigger repeated issues from quick breaks, albeit with out capitalising.

Arsenal will goal to be extra ruthless. Their counter-attacking capability helped them win the nook for Gabriel Magalhaes’ decisive objective in Sunday’s North London derby towards Tottenham and it’s an space wherein they’ve proven enchancment for the reason that begin of final season, as is clear within the graphic beneath.

In that timeframe, Arsenal have transformed 19 per cent of their photographs from counter-attacks within the Premier League, placing them forward of Aston Villa as essentially the most environment friendly facet within the division.

Gabriel’s headed winner towards Spurs was a reminder of one other of their largest weapons: set-pieces. Because the begin of final season, their complete of 24 set-piece objectives is unrivalled within the Premier League. So too is their set-piece conversion charge, as proven beneath.

Anticipate to see Nicolas Jover, the Arsenal set-piece coach poached from Metropolis by Arteta, orchestrating Arsenal’s dead-ball alternatives from the touchline as soon as once more on Sunday. They are going to be an important path to objective with Metropolis prone to dominate possession.

Title-winning future?

Arteta insisted Arsenal are on the trail to successful trophies, in an interview with Sky Sports activities carried out forward of the north London derby. A optimistic consequence towards Metropolis would gasoline that optimism.

There may be encouragement to be discovered within the age profile of the present workforce. A title triumph in both of the final two seasons would have been unprecedented with a facet as younger as Arsenal’s.

This season, although, their common age has crept above 26, their larger expertise placing them in a bracket which is far more in step with title-winning sides of the previous.

Their expertise shone by means of of their show on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in line with Gary Neville. “That was a team and performance of know-how,” he mentioned. “Wily, not naive, not immature – it was the opposite of that. It was experienced, mature and it was what a team who has won multiple titles would play like.”

In fact, it is not going to be simple towards the Manchester Metropolis machine. Arsenal haven’t gained the Premier League crown in 20 years. They haven’t gained on the Etihad Stadium since 2015. However they may go there with larger confidence than in earlier years, the teachings of final season’s conferences contemporary of their minds.

Watch Man Metropolis vs Arsenal reside on Sky Sports activities Premier League and Predominant Occasion from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm