On the first day of the new year in 2022, the 21st round of the Premier League will also be in full swing. In a major play-off, the leader and defending champions Manchester City will take on the Gunners Arsenal away. Prior to this, Guardiola's team had won 10 consecutive Premier League games, 8 points ahead of Chelsea in second place. Of course, Arsenal have also had a good record this season and are now back in the old four positions they are most familiar with, with a group of youngsters coached by Arteta showing great potential. Of course, facing Manchester City, the Gunners are still underestimated.
Guardiola joined Manchester City as manager in the summer of 2016 and since that season he has led his team to 11 Premier League clashes with Arsenal, winning 10 of them, the only draw being the second leg of the 2016/17 season, when the Gunners drew 2-2 at home with Mustafi and Little Tiger Walcott. In the nine games since then, the Gunners have been beaten by Manchester City without exception. Only scored 2 goals but conceded a full 22 goals.
The worst match came in the third round of the Premier League this season, when the Gunners, who suffered two consecutive defeats at the beginning of the Premier League, challenged the defending champions to Manchester City, resulting in Gundogan scoring first in the 7th minute, and Ferrantores extended the score four minutes later. With Xhaka's slash cancello sent off with a red card in the 34th minute, the Gunners suffered a 0-5 defeat at the start of the Premier League, conceded 9 goals in a net of 0 goals and became the vice president, and the hundreds of millions of euros spent on the summer window of Artat also became a joke.
Of course, in the following games, the Gunners were ashamed and brave, winning 11 of the 16 games, and the ranking also rose rapidly, and the last 4 rounds of matches were won 4 consecutive games, which can be described as a state of explosion. But does that really mean they can really wrestle with City?
Guardiola's side developed a no-front tactic last season in the face of widespread injuries on the front, and the result was miraculous, not only easily winning the Premier League title, but also reaching the Champions League final. This season, City sent Aguero away and rubbed shoulders with Harry Kane, buying only a Glalish who looked more like a parallel cargo. However, in this case, City's attacking power is still very strong, the 5-0 victory over Arsenal is not their biggest victory in the Premier League this season, and the White Roses Leeds United even swallowed seven bullets in the Etihad and lost a big loss.
In recent times, the Premier League has been affected by the epidemic and postponed many games, but Manchester City is still alive and kicking, and has achieved 10 consecutive wins in one go, scoring the most goals in 51 Premier League goals in 20 rounds, losing 12 goals is the least, in addition to the number of shots, the number of shots, the number of passes, the number of successful passes, the number of key passes and the possession rate and other data are also high. In other words, Guardiola's Manchester City have perfected their passing tactics and turned the Premier League into a second Bundesliga.
But the gunmen are not without opportunities. First, Arteta's side was given nearly a week's break due to the postponement of the last round against Wolves, while Manchester City played double-game games in a week. In addition, their main defender Rodri has recently been plagued by injuries, 36-year-old veteran Fernandinho was in danger to play 2 Premier League games in 4 days, if Rodri continues to truce in this game, Guardiola can only use Gundogan in the back position, the latter has been playing badly at the back.
In addition, City's main defender Hasello was violently attacked by 4 gangsters in his home, and the upper part of his right eye was cut and clearly bruised, which will also cause a lot of mental pressure on the Portuguese flying wing, and it is not yet known whether he can play against the Gunners. Kelwalker and Stones were already injured, And With Canselo unable to play again, City's backline was really stretched.
It is also worth mentioning that the Gunners' starting lineup, which lost 0-5 to Manchester City in the first leg, only a few players are still the main players, and Arteta has long since stepped out of the shadow of the beginning of the season, pinching this young team into a strong whole. In this situation, the gunman may really be able to kill the teacher with a fist.