Arsenal legend highlights tactical change Gunners must make to beat Man City
Emmanuel Petit says Arsenal must go in with a mindset to win when they play Manchester City on Sunday.
The two clubs have gone toe-to-toe over the past two seasons in the Premier League title race, with Pep Guardiola’s side beating his former assistant, Mikel Arteta, on both occasions.
Arsenal haven’t won at Man City in either season, and many fans and pundits have cited this as a key let down in the Gunners’ push for their first title in what is now over 20 years.
They saw out a 0-0 draw last term, but Arsenal legend Petit has urged his former club not to go and play for a draw this time round.
When asked on talkSPORT how Arsenal should play at the Etihad Stadium, he said: “I don’t want to see the same game I’ve seen last season at the Etihad where they were defending… it was amazing. Just like they did against Spurs yesterday, they defended very well.
“They didn’t give any inches on the pitch. They didn’t give any occasion to Manchester City to score a goal.
“But with Erling Haaland, he’s on the top of the [world].
“So if you want to go over there and you want to bring something, you need to get something different to what happened last season.
“I mean, we will see who is going to be injured. I think [Martin] Odegaard is still injured. But I think you need to go over there with a prepared mentality to win.”
Petit then began to liken Arsenal’s needed game plan against their title rivals to his Gunners’ side’s approach to Manchester United away during their peak rivalry years.
And his former Arsenal teammate Martin Keown, who was also in the studio, knew exactly what he was going to say before he could finish his sentence.
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Speaking about the Gunners’ 1-0 win at Old Trafford in 1998 that sent them on the way to the title, Keown said: “Do you know that goal was the first goal we scored at Old Trafford since the Premier League was formulated?
“We’d gone six years without scoring.
“Never mind win a game, but it told the rest of the group, didn’t it? Right, OK, we’ve done it now. We’ve done something big. And I think that’s what this team can do.”
Arsenal took the Premier League title off Manchester United that season.
Now, 26 years later, the Gunners will be hoping to do the same to Manchester City, starting with beating them in their own back yard.
Champions City are top of the Premier League with a maximum 12 points from four games this season, with Arsenal behind them in second in ten.
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