Arsenal vs. Manchester City live stream: Where to watch Premier League online, odds, start time, TV channel
As Pep Guardiola's side has increasingly come to rely on Haaland, Arsenal's defense has proved adept at slowing him down
By
James Benge
•
5 min read
Five games into the season and Erling Haaland looks to be in the mood. With six to his name, the big Norwegian looks as intimidating as he has at any stage since making the move to England three years ago. Only Tottenham have held Haaland goalless in what was more of a insipid performance by the rest of the Manchester City side than by their No.9, who was forced to take on a creative burden that ought not to be his.
Haaland is reaffirming his status as the greatest pure scorer in the game and doesn't Pep Guardiola know it? More and more Manchester City's attack is geared not to get shots, but to get shots specifically for one man. Through their first four Premier League matches this team has taken 50 shots, 19 of which have come from Haaland. No one else gets into double figures and the 38% of attempts that go to their star striker is a huge upswing on the league games he started last season, when a little over 21% of chances fell to him.
The heliocentrism of City only becomes more pronounced when you assess their expected goals. Four games down in the league, they have 8.47 xG. A ludicrous 5.47 of it has gone to Haaland, nearly two-thirds. Some of this is prone for regression towards the mean as the sample size of games expands, but not all of this appears to be an accident of the fixture list. With Kevin De Bruyne gone, Phil Foden attempting to recover his form and so many other attackers defined by their potential more than their pure output, this is a team that needs its main man more than any other.
How to watch Arsenal vs. Manchester City, odds
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 21 | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Emirates Stadium -- London
- Live stream: Peacock
- Odds: Arsenal: -110; Draw: +260; Man City: +280
Against this unstoppable scoring force is, you guessed it, an immovable object. That is what Arsenal's defense can be, all the more so now that they are in line to welcome William Saliba back from the twisted ankle he suffered prior to the international break. For the most part they and the players in front of him have performed rather effectively when 11 vs. Haaland and 10 others.
Set aside the crazy second half of the 2-2 draw at the Etihad last season, where Arsenal so nearly clung on to a lead they had earned before Leandro Trossard's first half red card, and Haaland has just six shots from three and a half games against the Gunners, only two of which have hit the target. Admittedly on both those occasions he has found the back of the net, but a key function of Arsenal's five game undefeated run against their title rivals is that they have kept Haaland from doing Haaland stuff.
"There's a lot of things that you have to get right as a player that doesn't need much space, much time or situation to generate big chances, especially when he's in and around the box," Arteta told CBS Sports in his prematch press conference. "Preventing the source sometimes is the best thing to do and we have to do it again."
He is right about the solution Arsenal have found. In Haaland's first two meetings with the side whose title bid he bludgeoned, he registered 36 and 35 touches. Across the last two seasons he has averaged just 19, in the 5-1 defeat at the Emirates last season his last touch was the equaliser he scored in the 55th minute. With Gabriel and Saliba relishing the physical battle, this is a team that aren't afraid of City's star attacker. If anything, they're prepared to take the mick.
And while Haaland might have become a more deadly attacking force this season, there are signs that Arsenal too have made their strong suit even more effective. After a cumbersome start away to Manchester United, Arteta's side have entered lockdown mode without the ball. Three of their last four opponents would genuinely have as much success breaking into Fort Knox as they would getting David Raya to make a save in open play. There have been plenty of questions over whether this team is threatening enough outside of set pieces, but they are certainly ensuring the back door is locked with a brace of Liverpool shots around the hour mark at Anfield the only open play shots in the last four games. The only goal Arsenal have conceded all season is still Dominik Szoboszlai's free kick, one of the best the Premier League has seen in recent years.
Arsenal's open play xG against in their last four games? 0.13 against Athletic Club, 0.06 against Nottingham Forest, 0.33 against Liverpool and 0.07 against Leeds. To describe this as lockdown feels like an underselling. This is Victor Wembanyama and Bam Adebayo against your little bro's junior varsity team. Even as Arteta wants "more" he has to acknowledge that this defense is "a very big foundation to achieve what we want."
And it is all the more impressive given that nearly three of those outstanding defensive displays have come without Saliba, the anchor of the defense in possession and the man tasked with covering the huge tracts of land Arsenal leave behind them. In his absence, Cristhian Mosquera, signed from Valencia for just $17.5 million, has excelled. The 21-year-old was greatly admired for both his desire to learn and his strength in the duels at his former club, two attributes among many that have allowed him to swiftly settle into the Premier League.
Why have Arsenal been so solid with him in the backline? Arteta explained that, "first of all, because he's very good. And I think credit to the scouting department, Andrea [Berta, Arsenal's new sporting director], that they presented the opportunity to have him. Again, no goals conceded and as a boy, you know, someone extremely focused, very determined, very clear that he wanted to come here and he wanted to come here to play, earn his place. I think what he's doing in that position so early is very impressive."
Mosquera's fine form is also a tribute to the system, one in which the frequently languid pace of ball progression guarantees that if and when there is a turnover, Arsenal's defense are ready to snuff it out. Such an approach has not always won Arteta many admirers but consider the alternative, which at its worst can look a lot like Haaland continually running up the gut of a Manchester United side that apparently has three center backs on the pitch.
Arsenal's system gets them results in the biggest games. It quiets even the most dangerous of strikers and it appears to be working in the absence of one of its most crucial cogs. Haaland might be operating at the peak of his powers but so, it appears, is the Arsenal defense. The evidence of the last two years suggests that if that is still the case on Sunday afternoon then it will be a serious struggle for City to emerge victorious.
