Manchester City and Arsenal are due to meet on Sunday in a Premier League game that feels bigger because both sides have been so hard to beat. Tony Pulis says the contest will turn on the flanks, where he believes City now have enough pace and invention to trouble Arsenal again.
Pulis said both teams have many strengths and very few weaknesses, but he pointed to Pep Guardiola’s recent return to the wide game as a key reason City have recovered their edge. Fast, skilful wingers who run at defenders for 90 minutes are, in his words, “leg-beaters”, and he said City are frightening teams again with that kind of threat.
The scale of the task on both benches helps explain why Sunday matters. Mikel Arteta has won only one major trophy since taking charge of Arsenal in December 2019, while Guardiola has built one of the most decorated spells in English football since arriving at Manchester City in the summer of 2016, collecting six Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups and five Carabao Cups. Pulis also said Arsenal have been the best team in the Premier League this season up to now, even if City have been written off by some experts.
That is why the return of City’s wide players has become such a talking point. Pulis said Riyad Mahrez used to be a key outlet for Guardiola’s teams, and he now sees similar danger in Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki. City signed Semenyo from Bournemouth for £65m in January, and the 26-year-old Ghana international has added another direct option to a side that looks more like its old self.
The match also fits the wider picture at the top of the table, where small details can decide the title race long before spring. City’s renewed X-factor is one of those details, and it is the reason Pulis expects them to test Arsenal where it can hurt most: in open spaces out wide.
There is still a practical problem for Arsenal. Whoever plays full-back will need to bring their “A game” against City, Pulis said, and that may be the hardest assignment in the match. If Arsenal can cope, they keep their status as the season’s standard-bearers. If they cannot, City’s latest surge could change the tone of the race again. For more on the buildup, see Chelsea Vs Man City: Injuries and suspensions test hosts before Sunday, and City’s wider squad depth also remains a storyline after Man City Fixtures: Ryan McAidoo stars as City reach youth final.