Sunday\u2019s meeting at the Etihad will not hand the Premier League crown to either side, but its impact on the 2025\/26 race is plain. Arsenal have led for long periods and, as the draft notes, \u201cthere\u2019s a sense that the Gunners are running out of steam at a critical juncture.\u201d City, meanwhile, appear to be finding form at the right time.<\/p>\n
Goalkeepers: David Raya vs Gianluigi Donnarumma
\nThe contest between the posts may be decisive in a low-chance affair. \u201cOne lapse could prove decisive, or a huge save at a critical moment may preserve an advantage.\u201d Raya is set to claim a third successive Premier League Golden Glove award, yet, according to Opta, the Italian has prevented the fifth-highest number of goals in the division (+3.5), while Raya ranks 15th (-1.0). Donnarumma also boasts the highest save percentage in the Premier League (73.6%). Arsenal\u2019s defence means Raya is counted upon less than City\u2019s goalkeeper, whose footwork and ability to claim the high ball will be under scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Cherki\u2019s role
\nPep Guardiola admitted balancing this Man City team has been a big challenge, and the manager has referenced reading Eckhart Tolle and \u201cletting go.\u201d After regretting his decision not to start Rayan Cherki at West Ham United, Guardiola has relied on the Frenchman in a No. 10 role. Cherki supplied two assists at Stamford Bridge and, in the league, Only Bruno Fernandes (18) has more assists than Cherki (10) in the Premier League this term. He is City\u2019s X-factor as the run-in approaches.<\/p>\n
Midfield balance and Arsenal\u2019s defensive discipline
\nCity\u2019s equilibrium has been aided by Nico O\u2019Reilly\u2019s hybrid role allowing Bernardo Silva to roam. Arsenal may line up cautiously, adopting the blueprint that worked against Sporting CP. Mart\u00edn Zubimendi has been caught wandering at times this season but returned to form in the week, while William Saliba is effective when asked to step up. Arteta\u2019s side, having learned from their Carabao Cup final defeat, will hope that organisation and determination blunt City\u2019s attacking variety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Goalkeepers, Cherki’s influence, midfield balance and Arsenal’s defence could decide the title. read<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,1056,969],"tags":[1162,988,342],"class_list":["post-12268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal","category-man-city","category-premier-league","tag-analytics","tag-bernardo-silva","tag-bruno-fernandes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}