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All sorts of late drama at Villa Park, where the seventh goal of the game has just been scored. Tom Bassam has the latest on Aston Villa v Sunedrland and Nottingham Forest v Burnley, while Daniel Harris is watching 11 minutes of added time in the Merseyside derby.
Manchester City gained ground last weekend but the league leaders have plenty of reasons to remain positive, writes Oliver Hopkins.
David Hytner
Mikel Arteta will go all out for victory in today’s Premier League title showdown at Manchester City and has not thought for “one second” about setting up for a draw.
Arsenal are six points clear of City, albeit they have played an extra game, and a stalemate could move them decisively towards the trophy they crave. According to Opta’s projections, Arsenal would have an 89% probability of winning the title if it finished all square at the Etihad Stadium.
Jonathan Wilson
At half-time in the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple remained strong. They were unbeaten in 14, 11 of them won. They were drawing 0-0 against Manchester City and it wasn’t unreasonable to think that if the second half carried on as the first half had, they would eventually find a winner – quite possibly from a corner.
They had drawn a Championship side in the sixth round of the FA Cup and a Portuguese side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They held a nine-point lead in the Premier League. This was shaping up to be the greatest season in Arsenal’s history.
That was four weeks ago. There remains a possibility of a Premier League and Champions League double, which would be remarkable enough, but the mood is very different now. This could become the most disappointing season in Arsenal’s history, if only because they came so close to winning it all.
Well that’s Mikel Arteta’s teamtalk sorted!
Team news: Havertz starts up front
Manchester City are unchanged, no surprise given their recent form. Mikel Arteta has made two changes to the side that drew against Sporting in midweek: Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz replace Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres. That means Arsenal have a few options in midfield, but the likeliest scenario is that Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze will play as the wide attackers.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.
Arsenal (4-1-4-1) Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi; Odegaard, Eze, Rice, Madueke; Havertz.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Jesus, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Norgaard, Trossard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Preamble
We should have known it was always going to end this way. For most of the season, it looked like Arsenal were strolling to their first title in 22 years without a serious challenge. It was a ludicrous assumption, one that disrespected the weight of history and the voracity of Pep Guardiola.
The clues were all there. Guardiola’s decade-long dominance of the Premier League; his complex relationship with Mikel Arteta; the intense recent rivalry between the sides. Had Arsenal won the league without overcoming City, the narrative police would have wanted a word.
Today’s game isn’t necessarily a title decider, but it sure feels like one. For the neutral, the fact it’s at the Etihad makes it even more mouthwatering. This is where Arsenal’s first title challenge under Arteta was ruthlessly extinguished by Kevin De Bruyne, a defeat so devastating that it instantly turned Arteta from a romantic into a pragmatist. If Arsenal are to win the league, having their own Marc Overmars moment today will make it infinitely sweeter.
Except they don’t really need to win. For all the talk of Arsenal needing to hurt a rival on their own patch, a draw would be an outstanding result given the mood of both teams and the state of the league table. Arsenal are six points clear having played a game more; if they avoid defeat today, they will be the only team with the title in their hands.
It’s a big if. All the momentum is with City, which is ostensibly odd given they have drawn two of their last three games. But those two draws came before the Premier League’s spring break, during which City outclassed Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and Liverpool in the FA Cup.
At the same time, Arsenal went out of the FA Cup to Southampton. A change in mood was confirmed by last week’s Premier League resumption. Arsenal lost at home to Bournemouth, when the result was less alarming than their angst-ridden performance, and City blew Chelsea away in the second half at Stamford Bridge.
It feels like all the pressure is on Arsenal. The reality is more nuanced. City have to win to keep the title in their own hands; Arsenal simply cannot afford another defeat. Something has to give.
Kick off 4.30pm
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