Arsenal v Manchester City- live

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ARSENAL 0 MAN CITY 0 (Kick off 16.00)

15.43 This afternoon's retro highlights are brought to you by the year 1971:

15.35 That's United v Liverpool taken care of for another season. Now let's get rrrrrrrrrready to wwwwwwwwwwwatch a goalless draw!

15.25 The teams are in...

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Wilshere, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Walcott. Subs: Mannone, Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Giroud, Ramsey, Coquelin, Jenkinson.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Javi Garcia, Barry, Milner, Silva, Tevez, Dzeko. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Sinclair, Kolarov, Suarez, Rekik, Balotelli.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

15.00 Afternoon liveblog fans.

Is Arsenal v Manchester City the new Liverpool v Chelsea?

Do you remember that vile mid-00s run in which the latter two seemed to play eachother every other weekend and how the games were almost always dreadful? Allow me to jog your memory with the help of the website Soccerbase:

Urgh. They're yet to develop quite the same infatuation with playing each other in every competition possible, but I'm sensing a similar pattern developing between the two teams we're about to watch:

Arsenal have been fonder of kerazy goalscoring exploits of late, with especially memorable outings against Newcastle and Reading (twice) already this season.

But crikey City can be obstinate when they want to be. And sometimes two teams, with the same basic core of players and the same basic systems, just cancel one another out.

Again today? I hope not. I love goals.

I'm rather occupied with the Man Utd v Liverpool game on the other side at the minute but will be taking up residence here as soon as that's wrapped up.

Team news and reasons to be cheerful to follow, stay tuned.

Why not read a preview?

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Arsenal v Manchester City Emirates Stadium Kick-off: 16.00 GMT TV: Live Sky Sports 1, Highlights BBC ONE Match of the Day2.

Arsenal (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Arteta, Wilshere; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski; Walcott. Out: Gervino (international duty), Fabianski (back). Test: Santos (stomach), Giroud (knee), Diaby (thigh).

Manchester City (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Garcia, Barry; Silva, Tévez, Milner; Dzeko. Out: Agüero (hamstring), Y Touré, K Touré, Razak (international duty), Nasri (suspended), Maicon, Richards (both knee), Rodwell (hamstring).

Referee: Mike Dean (Matches 14, R1 Y49).

Team News Arsenal will assess striker Olivier Giroud's knee injury ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.

Forward Gervinho is away at the African Nations Cup with Ivory Coast.

Midfielder Abou Diaby returned from three months out with a thigh problem to play for the club's under-21 side this week and could be involved against City.

Defender Andre Santos also had a run-out, but is not expected to feature for the first team yet.

Meanwhile, Manchester City travel to Arsenal without Sergio Agüero, Yaya Touré and former Gunner Samir Nasri.

Striker Agüero remains on the sidelines while midfielder Touré is at the Africa Cup of Nations Cup - along with brother Kolo, the defender, and back-up striker Abdul Razak - and forward Nasri completes a three-game suspension.

Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov is back in contention but right-back Maicon is still out while Micah Richards and Jack Rodwell are long-term casualties.

Match Notes City's 27-game winless streak at Arsenal in the league is one of the game's most surprising anomalies.

They have often struggled to create chances at the Emirates, and the absences of Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure will again hamper them.

So all eyes on Roberto Mancini's selection. Will it be aggressive, as it often has in big games, or will it be a case of soaking up pressure and hitting on the counter?

With Arsenal's approach more predictable, it is City's outlook that will determine the character of this game.

Betting: Home 6-4, Away 8-5, Draw 23-10.

Stat of the game: There have been four red cards in the last five Premier League meetings between Arsenal and Man City.

Jonathan Liew's prediction: Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2.

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Arsenal v Manchester City- live

Last updated : 13 January 2013 By telegraph