Manchester City vs Arsenal: FA Cup Fourth round buildup

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When Arsenal travel to Manchester on Friday evening to face fierce title rivals Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, they will have one eye on the Premier League title race.

In their last five meetings in all competitions, Manchester City have come away winners, scoring thirteen goals and only conceding four. An embarrassing statistic from Mikel Arteta’s Gunners’ point of view.

In the previous round, Pep’s City progressed by humbling Premier League competitors Chelsea 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, while Arsenal secured their position in the fourth round by cruising past Football League One side Oxford United 3-0.

The Gunners have struggled at the Etihad in recent years with their previous journey to Manchester resulting in a disastrous 5-0 defeat, a result the Gunners will undoubtedly like to put behind them as they chase their 15th FA Cup.

The odds are also in Manchester City’s favour with Betway showing odds of 1.80 for a City victory, 4.0 for a draw and 4.0 for an Arsenal victory. This sentiment is echoed by Sportingbet who have similar odds in favour of the Sky Blues. Odds of 1.78 for a City victory, 4.0 for a draw and 4.0 for an Arsenal victory.

Despite the odds, the Gunners will take inspiration from their last victory against Guardiola’s City which came in July of 2020. This was an unexpected 2-0 victory thanks to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace in the FA Cup semi-final in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.

Will Manchester City maintain their dominance at the Etihad? Or will the Gunners put their disappointing past behind them?

Photo: Twitter @PepDegree

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Dylan Johnson