Man Cityvs.Arsenal

The Gunners return to domestic duty one point and two places better off than the treble winners, with Liverpool sandwiched in between their fellow title rivals and capable of surging to the summit of the table when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the day's 2pm kickoff.

Two-and-a-half hours later, Arsenal can return to their perch with a ninth successive Premier League victory, although they must find a way to best a Citizens unit who have not been downed on Etihad soil in a staggering 16 months.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 210

Man City wins: 65

Draws: 45

Arsenal wins: 100

From a neutral perspective, the head-to-head record between Man City and Arsenal is an aesthetically pleasing one, with a multiple of five in each metric since Woolwich Arsenal and Ardwick first crossed paths in 1893.

That inaugural battle marked the first of 210 showdowns between the Citizens and the Gunners, who lead the way with a century of wins against the current English and European champions, hitting that three-figure mark in October's Emirates encounter thanks to a deflected Gabriel Martinelli strike.

Victory number 99 had come Arsenal's way just a few months beforehand in the 2023 Community Shield as they held their nerve from the penalty spot, thereby ending an eight-game losing streak against Guardiola's men since another smash-and-grab Wembley success behind closed doors in the 2019-20 FA Cup semi-finals.

City's excellent eight-game winning sequence took them up to 65 triumphs over Arsenal in their history, and seven of those have arrived in their last seven Premier League home matches, where they have subjected despondent Gooners to humiliation after humiliation.

Across their last two top-flight showdowns at the Etihad, Man City have made the net bulge nine times while conceding just once themselves - to perhaps the unlikeliest scorer in Rob Holding - and it has been nine years since Arsenal emerged victorious on the Sky Blues' soil.

On that occasion, the silky Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud propelled Arsene Wenger's charges to a two-goal victory, and by emulating the class of 2014-15, Arsenal would achieve their first league double over the reigning champions since the 2007-08 campaign.

While August's Community Shield showdown did end in a share of the spoils after 90 minutes, there has not been a Premier League stalemate between the two clubs since Guardiola's debut campaign in April 2017, where four goals - the last of which was scored by the ever-criticised Shkodran Mustafi - were split evenly at the Emirates.

Almost exactly six years down the line, another goal-fest is certainly not out of the question between two of the finest teams in the land, albeit two teams that also enter the Easter weekend anxiously awaiting news on injuries to several star performers.

Previous meetings

Oct 08, 2023: Arsenal 1-0 Man City (Premier League)

Aug 06, 2023: Arsenal 1-1 Man City (Community Shield Final)

Apr 26, 2023: Man City 4-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

Feb 15, 2023: Arsenal 1-3 Man City (Premier League)

Jan 27, 2023: Man City 1-0 Arsenal (FA Cup Fourth Round)

Jan 01, 2022: Arsenal 1-2 Man City (Premier League)

Aug 28, 2021: Man City 5-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Feb 21, 2021: Arsenal 0-1 Man City (Premier League)

Dec 22, 2020: Arsenal 1-4 Man City (EFL Cup Quarter-Finals)

Oct 17, 2020: Man City 1-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Jul 18, 2020: Arsenal 2-0 Man City (FA Cup Semi-Finals)

Jun 17, 2020: Man City 3-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Dec 15, 2019: Arsenal 0-3 Man City (Premier League)

Feb 03, 2019: Man City 3-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

Aug 12, 2018: Arsenal 0-2 Man City (Premier League)

Mar 01, 2018: Arsenal 0-3 Man City (Premier League)

Feb 25, 2018: Arsenal 0-3 Man City (EFL Cup Final)

Nov 05, 2017: Man City 3-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

Apr 23, 2017: Arsenal 2-1 Man City (FA Cup Semi-Finals)

Apr 02, 2017: Arsenal 2-2 Man City (Premier League)

Last 10 Premier League meetings

Oct 08, 2023: Arsenal 1-0 Man City (Premier League)

Apr 26, 2023: Man City 4-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

Feb 15, 2023: Arsenal 1-3 Man City (Premier League)

Jan 01, 2022: Arsenal 1-2 Man City (Premier League)

Aug 28, 2021: Man City 5-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Feb 21, 2021: Arsenal 0-1 Man City (Premier League)

Oct 17, 2020: Man City 1-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Jun 17, 2020: Man City 3-0 Arsenal (Premier League)

Dec 15, 2019: Arsenal 0-3 Man City (Premier League)

Feb 03, 2019: Man City 3-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

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