Prediction: Arsenal vs Manchester City

Everybody at Arsenal is hoping Danny Welbeck will have a perfect debut and help the Gunners overcome the Premier League holders to prove their title credentials. Meanwhile, the Citizens are desperate to make amends for the shock defeat to Stoke City as well as stay close to the top of the standings.

Arsenal fans had probably hoped for more transfer activity on deadline day, but chances are they were pretty satisfied with the capture of Danny Welbeck even if Arsene Wenger failed in his quest to sign a central defender and defensive midfielder. The Manchester United graduate shone in his first England appearance as Arsenal player, scoring a brace to help England enjoy a winning start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers and he is now widely expected to start up front against Manchester City. The Gunners will definitely need all their key footballers to perform if they are to defeat the reigning Premier League champions and doubts over the fitness of Aaron Ramsey are certainly a cause for concern. The reality is Arsenal have yet to hit the ground running and star signing Alexis Sanchez is another one of those who are not performing to their best at the moment. The Gunners did hammer City 3-0 in the Community Shield match, but it is perfectly clear this will be a whole different ball game seeing as how both sides were missing a number of key players at Wembley. Arsene Wenger should have Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil back in contention, but Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Serge Gnabry continue to miss out.

It was Manchester City’s consistency that ultimately won them the second Premier League trophy in three years and the Citizens will certainly be hoping for more of the same this term. Seeing as how a number of key players had missed a big chunk of pre-season training, Manuel Pellegrini’s side enjoyed a bright start to the season, the Community Shield defeat aside, as they produced two very convincing performances to defeat Newcastle and Liverpool. But, just as everybody expected another comfortable win, the Citizens unexpectedly slipped up against Stoke City, allowing Chelsea to create a three-point advantage. And with the Blues playing Swansea at home this weekend, Manchester City clearly need to try and defeat Arsenal at the Emirates, even if that will be no easy task. The good news is that captain Vincent Kompany appears to be fully fit at the moment, but Stevan Jovetic and Fernando are out injured and Pablo Zabaleta is rated doubtful. Fernandinho is widely expected to be recalled, while Gael Clichy could be preferred to Aleksandar Kolarov on the left flank.

Conclusion

Had it not been for the Stoke defeat, I would probably back Manchester City for the win, but with the loss likely to act as a blow to the players’ confidence, Arsenal will have a chance to claim maximum points. Even if this game could go either way, I believe that the two sides will end up cancelling each other.

Verdict: Draw (X)

Best Odds: 5/2

Bookmaker: bet365