3 steps to success for Arsenal against Manchester City

#3 Move the ball quicker

Xhaka will have to guard against the close attention of City's midfield

Arsene Wenger liked his team to keep hold of the ball for as long as possible. While this tired teams out, Arsenal were sometimes guilty of over-doing it and their play seemed pedestrian. Though Emery also likes to keep hold of the ball, he adopts a more direct approach while attacking.

Arsenal signed Aubameyang in January and he hit the ground running, scoring 10 goals in 13 Premier League appearances for the Gunners. Aubameyang is one of the quickest players in the world. In the game against City, he would be up against either of Kompany, Laporte and Stones. While all of them are excellent defenders, none of them possesses the pace of Aubameyang. Hence, it would be essential for Arsenal to play to Aubameyang’s strengths and release the ball quicker.

Manchester City also like to play with a high line. A high line would surely leave some space in behind and if Ozil or Xhaka can release Aubameyang into that space, he can wreak havoc.

Arsenal would also need to make a quicker transition from defence to attack. City will press Arsenal and try to induce mistakes. Torreira and Xhaka should play one-touch passes to play around the press and release their attacking midfielders. If Xhaka and Torreira are unable to do so, they would endure a fate similar to that of Jorginho and Chelsea.

If Arsenal are to lay down their marker for the season, they need to move the ball quicker, be it in the defensive third or the attacking third. With less than a week, Emery would hope his troops can come up with an impeccable performance against City.