Injuries and poor play have laid a setback on the Gunners who are now in 4th place, 6 points behind the leaders Chelsea and 3 points behind Manchester City, who have 2 games in hand.
It seems as though when Arsenal need to gain a result, they don’t show up against the top teams in the league. Early in the season, we had a great result against Liverpool but since then have drawn against Chelsea and Manchester United, lost to Liverpool, lost to Chelsea and now are up against a Manchester City team, who are likely favorites to win the Premier League.
Injuries to key players haven’t helped our season and there have been some setbacks to as well. One major loss this season was Theo Walcott, who has been out since January after undergoing knee surgery. Wilshere (foot) and Ozil (knee) have been major losses as well. Ozil is probably going to be back earlier than Wilshere but it really depends on any delays in recovery. Ramsey could’ve been back earlier, but had a setback in his recovery and now manager Arsene Wenger says another few weeks before we’ll see him in action. Laurent Koscielny is confirmed to miss the Manchester City game on Saturday, after suffering a calf injury against Chelsea last week.
The Arsenal midfield is now very stretched and players are exhausted. With 7 Premier League games left, Arsenal will have to dig deep in order to gain necessary points to most importantly, in my opinion, lock in a Champions League spot next season or make a desperate push for Premier League title. There is still some silverware left in the future for Arsenal, who will face Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semifinal in April.
As for the players who are fit, Lukas Podolski looked solid offensively against Swansea, scoring Arsenal’s first to level and also assisting Giroud for Arsenal’s 2nd. However, it’s his defensive play that has some Arsenal fans and coaches shaking their heads, and it’s possible that’s why Arsene Wenger doesn’t show him much of the field. Kim Kallstrom made his Arsenal debut against Swansea and in the 15 minutes or so he played, he put in some good balls and had some solid defensive stops but a disappointing debut after Swansea drew level so late in the game. Rosicky, in my opinion, brought more energy and fluidity to the game, as he always does. He’s going to be a player Arsenal rely on down the stretch.
As for Manchester City, news has broken out that the team might make a summer move for Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna, after he decided to stay in the Premier League. Hopefully this doesn’t come as a distraction for the French fullback. Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure are coming off great games against Manchester United and have been looking deadly in the attacking third. Yaya Toure leads the team with 17 Premier League goals, however Sergio Aguero (who might return against Arsenal on Saturday) is 2nd on the team with 15. Manchester City will be without defenders Micah Richards and Matija Nastasic.
It’s going to be buzzing around the Emirates on Saturday and the fans, the players, and coaches will be looking for crucial points. The last time these teams met, Manchester City dealt Arsenal a dismantling 6-3 loss at the Etihad. Arsenal will have to play lights out on defense against an offensive minded Manchester City and figure out a way to put the ball in the net with the players they have fit.
I don’t believe it will be like the last game but my mind thinks 3-1 to City. As always, I will go with my heart, which tells me the Gunners will be victors, 2-1 the final score.