Arsenal vs Man City – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

The Gunners are four matches unbeaten vs City, having previously lost 12 straight league clashes with Pep Guardiola’s team. The last meeting saw a 5-1 Arsenal win in February.

Match: Arsenal vs Man City
When: Sunday, 21 September 2025

Arsenal Form

The Gunners are in strong form as they look to win a trophy this season. Last term saw the club finish second in the league and exit the Champions League in the semi-finals. This season began with a 1-0 win at Man Utd despite allowing 22 shots. They smashed Leeds 5-0 in their next match with an 18-3 shot count.

Arsenal lost 1-0 at Liverpool to a late freekick as they put up just one shot on target. After the FIFA break, Arteta’s side beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 last weekend. In midweek, two late goals sealed a 2-0 win away at Athletic Bilbao.

Arsenal Team News

Mikel Arteta has some big calls ahead of this match. William Saliba is fit again but Cristhian Mosquera has done well in his absence. Ben White is doubtful at the back.

Bukayo Saka is nearing a return but this match may come too soon. Martin Odegaard is a major doubt in midfield so one of Ethan Nwaneri or Mikel Merino will start. Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are out injured.

Arsenal Motivation

Confidence is high in the Arsenal camp. They will come into this match with belief after two wins and two draws in the last four matches vs City.

The Gunners tend to play defensively in these big games. They may look to get 1-0 up and then sit in a low block to frustrate the visitors.

Man City Form

After finishing last season so well – with seven wins and two draws in the final nine league matches – they exited the FIFA Club World Cup early. This term began with a 4-0 win over Wolves before a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham thanks to cheap goals conceded.

A 2-1 loss at Brighton came after a dominant the first half. They beat Man Utd 3-0 last weekend and won again in midweek. A 2-0 home victory over Napoli saw City face ten men for 69 minutes and allow just one shot all game.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola is still set to be without Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki in attack due to knee and hamstring injuries respectively. Mateo Kovacic is close to a comeback but this match is expected to be too early for him.

Both Rayan Ait-Nouri and John Stones are set to return in defense. It’s not clear if either will start. We may see Stones play centrally with Josko Gvardiol moving to left back.

Man City Motivation

City will want to avenge their heavy defeat when they last faced Arsenal. A draw at the Emirates would be a solid result.

Expect a lot of possession for the visitors. They will have to be wary of Arsenal’s fast counters and set-piece threat.

Key Stats

• Arsenal are unbeaten in 4 matches vs Man City (2 wins, 2 draws)
• Arsenal have lost just 2 of their last 16 league matches (8 wins, 6 draws)
• Man City have won 9 of their last 13 league matches
• Man City’s Haaland has scored 16 goals in his last 11 matches for club and country

Verdict

This match is very difficult to call. A tight affair with not many goals is the most likely outcome. Arsenal could nick a 1-0 win at home.

Best Bet: Arsenal win at 1.91
Alternate Bet: Under 2.5 goals at 2.00
Correct Score Tip: Arsenal 1-0 Man City at 6.50