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In most football leagues in Europe, the championship race is over. In Italy, Spain, Russia and France, the champion will be determined very soon. The situation is a bit more complicated in Germany, where Borussia doesn’t have a big lead over Bayern. The real battle for gold is now taking place in England. Today, a match will be played in Manchester, the outcome of which will directly affect the championship. The two leaders of the table play: Arsenal and Manchester City.
Five days from the end of the season, the London club is in the lead, thanks to 75 points from Mikel Arteta’s team. City have 70 points and quite a strong asset in their pocket – up to 2 games in reserve. Until recently Arsenal had a comfortable advantage over Manchester City, but after 3 draws in a row they have made it much harder for themselves.
The performance of Mikel Arteta’s side this season is truly amazing: in terms of league goals they are second behind City, have won the most games (23) and lost only 3 times. In parallel, this Premier League season, the Gunners have played 3 clean sheets at home, and this is curiously one of the worst indicators in the championship.
On the Citizens side, we can note their excellent current form: 5 wins out of 5 in the last matches, Bayern’s passage to the Champions League and arrival in the FA Cup final – Pep Guardiola’s team is on a wave of success , which can not be said of their opponent.
Before the next game, in favor of Manchester City, there is the fact that they have conceded only 2 goals for the Londoners in the last 5 games, while scoring as many as 12 goals in the same period.
Arsenal come into this match with a personnel problem: William Saliba, the mainstay of the Gunners’ defense this season, has been absent for several matches due to injury. Participation in the match and Granita Xhaka is questionable. For his part, Pep Guardiola will not be able to count on Nathan Ake.
The match promises to be extremely interesting. Mikel Arteta worked in Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff for a long time, and now they will basically play the English Premier League championship. These coaches met 8 times, and in seven cases the victory was celebrated by the most eminent Guardiola. City have beaten the Gunners 1-3 this season.
Arsenal will settle for just one win, any other result will leave Mikel Arteta’s side dependent on rivals Manchester, counting hands and points. All of this can be avoided if you get the desired result at the Etihad.
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