Man Metropolis vs Arsenal: Set-piece risk, utilizing Kai Havertz and shackling Erling Haaland key to Gunners’ formulation

Manchester Metropolis beat Arsenal to the title final season however no opponent made their life harder. 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.

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

Assaults and defences in contrast

Repeating final season’s efforts is not going to be straightforward for Arsenal, significantly given the brief turnaround to the sport following Thursday’s Champions League exertions in opposition to Atalanta in Italy.

Metropolis have had an additional day to organize, having hosted Inter Milan of their Champions League recreation on Wednesday, and have began the marketing campaign strongly, significantly in assault. Having smashed 96 objectives on their strategy 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 thus far – three greater than every other facet. In addition they rank prime for anticipated objectives, photographs heading in the right direction and probabilities created.

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

Arsenal, in the meantime, have solely scored six objectives, from a relatively low anticipated aim 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 after all had the harder fixtures, going away to Aston Villa and Tottenham whereas additionally taking part in nearly half of their residence recreation in opposition to 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 approach 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 larger by way of anticipated objectives conceded and photographs heading in the right direction conceded, with Arsenal indebted to some glorious saves from David Raya for retaining out their opponents.

The Spain worldwide carried his high-quality type into the Champions League on Thursday, his beautiful double save proving key in Arsenal’s goalless draw with Atalanta, one other recreation by which Arteta’s facet have proven spectacular defensive resilience.

For the reason that begin of final season within the Premier League, they’ve conceded solely 30 objectives to Metropolis’s 37. Arsenal paved the way for clear sheets too, with 21 to Metropolis’s 14.

How Arsenal locked out Haaland

Arsenal will purpose to duplicate final season’s defensive shows in opposition to Metropolis after 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.

In reality, 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 residence simply how successfully Arsenal suppressed their alternatives. The Gunners had been the one facet to carry Metropolis to underneath two anticipated objectives throughout their two video games, with Metropolis mustering a mixed complete of solely 16 photographs.

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

Final season, Metropolis’s away recreation in opposition to Arsenal was the one one all season by which Haaland was unable to register a single shot, subsequently scoring zero for anticipated objectives.

He had 4 photographs within the goalless draw on the Etihad Stadium however they had been value a mixed complete of solely 0.31 anticipated objectives, approach down on his common, and none of them had been heading in the right direction.

It was a pointy distinction from the earlier season, when Haaland scored in each video games in opposition to Arsenal. That was, nevertheless, with Saliba lacking the 4-1 loss on the Etihad as a consequence of damage.

The Gunners have improved immensely in a defensive sense since then, their success in opposition to 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 happened 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 formulation

Arsenal have proved their capability to close out Haaland and Metropolis, then, however how might they damage 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 position as a goal for direct passes.

Final season, the Gunners made extra lengthy passes in opposition to Metropolis than they did in opposition to every 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 strategy shone via in Gabriel Martinelli’s winner on the Emirates, with Havertz teeing up the Brazilian following an extended go 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 in opposition to Inter on Wednesday, after 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 purpose to be extra ruthless. Their counter-attacking capability helped them win the nook for Gabriel Magalhaes’ decisive aim in Sunday’s North London derby in opposition to Tottenham and it’s an space by which 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 in opposition to Spurs was a reminder of one other of their greatest weapons: set-pieces. For the reason that begin of final season, their complete of 24 set-piece objectives is unrivalled within the Premier League. So too is their set-piece conversion fee, as proven beneath.

Count on 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 aim with Metropolis prone to dominate possession.

Title-winning future?

Arteta insisted Arsenal are on the trail to profitable trophies, in an interview with Sky Sports activities performed forward of the north London derby. A optimistic outcome in opposition to Metropolis would gasoline that optimism.

There’s encouragement to be discovered within the age profile of the present crew. 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 way more in line with title-winning sides of the previous.

Their expertise shone via of their show on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, based on 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 easy in opposition to the Manchester Metropolis machine. Arsenal haven’t received the Premier League crown in 20 years. They haven’t received on the Etihad Stadium since 2015. However they’ll 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 stay on Sky Sports activities Premier League and Important Occasion from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm