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Some Arsenal fans were left surprised with Mikel Arteta's starting lineup to face Manchester City in their upcoming Premier League clash at the Etihad on Sunday, September 22. This is unarguably one of the biggest games of the season.
Arsenal and City have notably been involved in the Premier League title race over the last two seasons, with Manchester City taking the trophy both times.
For the upcoming game, Mikel Arteta has opted to go with David Raya in goal, unsurprisingly. Ahead of the shot-stopper, the Gunners manager has picked a back four of Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Riccardo Calafiori, with Ben White on the bench.
In midfield, Thomas Partey and Declan Rice will play, while Kai Havertz may be Arteta's choice to replace injured captain Martin Odegaard in attacking midfield. Up front, Leandro Trossard starts alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the flanks.
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Fans took to social media to react, posting:
"How on earth does Martinelli find himself in the starting lineup all the time when he has been poor and wasteful every game?????" a fan asked angrily.
"It's gonna be a blood bath. Red color I'm with you," another added.
"That was bold from Arteta," a third claimed.
"Strong line up but Ben White should’ve been starting," another warned.
"Fully confident," a fan said with sarcasm.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta discusses plan to face Manchester City
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke about how the Gunners would prepare to face Manchester City in their upcoming clash. Speaking ahead of the matchday, he explained (via football.london):
"For sure we will prepare to try and win, like we did tonight. That’s been the message already. In order to do that there are going to be things that we have to do much better than tonight.
"There are some things that we have done exceptionally well tonight and we are going to have to do them again. Because we all know we need a big performance to beat them."
Speaking about his defenders Gabriel and Saliba facing Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, he added:
"When you see the stats and the number of goals that he scores then you can tell that he is one of the main sources. We need to stop him from scoring."
Mikel Arteta will hope that Arsenal have what it takes to get past Manchester City and secure a win against all odds.
