"Manchester City's manager is not as combative as some others, but he is a fierce competitor, and it's difficult to..."
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The encounter between Arsenal and Manchester City on Wednesday will not be your typical first-versus-second-place affair in the league.
Arsenal's chances of winning their first league title since 2004 are highly reliant on this game. However, it is significant because it is the first appearance of a rivalry that has the potential to dominate the English Premier League (EPL) for the next few years.
For the previous several years, Liverpool vs Manchester City has been the league's marquee match, and while it is still early days, the Arsenal-City rivalry looks to have the potential to take up that role.
Manchester City struggled to establish themselves in their own city during the heydays of Highbury under Arsene Wenger. Wenger's first English championship came in 1998, the same year Manchester City was relegated from the top flight for the second time in three years.
After Sheikh Mansour took over City in 2008, the tables were flipped. They won the league for the first time in 2012 and have won it four times in the previous five seasons under Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal's decline between late Wenger and early Mikel Arteta was spectacular: Arsenal has finished 28.8 points behind City on average over the previous five seasons.
City won only three of their 18 meetings between 2000 and 2010, and never away from home. Arsenal has only won four games in the previous 12 years, and only once at the Etihad.
This season, the Gunners have demonstrated the ability to close the gap. Arsenal's greatest start to a Premier League season has been 51 points from 21 games. It had 38 points and was fifth at the same point last year.
Arsenal, under manager Arteta, has a roster that is structured to compete for top honours in the long haul, so this is not a one-off season.
Jay Harris of The Athletic told Al Jazeera, “They’ve got such a young team. Even though they are at the top of the league right now, in theory, we’re yet to see the best of them.”
“This is a side led by Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. These guys are still in their early 20s, so you’d expect that in three to four years if this group stays together, it will be even better. That’s why there is excitement seeing Arteta’s Arsenal progress, Guardiola’s City coming up against them and who’s going to win.”
The finest rivalries are based on strong hostility, but the two's lack of highly consequential meetings has mainly kept ties friendly. With the exception of Emmanuel Adebayor's explosive celebration in front of Arsenal supporters in 2009, there are few memorable highlights from this game.
That could change soon, and City's decision to sell Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal in the summer could be the tipping point.
After years of waiting in the wings at the Etihad, the two have thrived in the spotlight at the Emirates. If Zinchenko starts on Wednesday, he will have made the same number of starts for City as he did last season.
With the benefit of hindsight, the decision to sell them to the Gunners appears strange and suggests that Guardiola underestimated the progress made under Arteta.
Finally, the most intriguing undercurrent of this developing rivalry is Guardiola vs Arteta.
"Given their previous collaboration [at Manchester City], it feels a far cry from the rivalries of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, and Jose Mourinho, as two top coaches battle at the top of the table with similar footballing principles, and both remaining on good terms has certainly contributed to the rivalry being 'friendlier' than in other title races," Harris added.
City won the league twice in their three years together. Arteta's "hero" had an impact on his management philosophy, as seen by the way he organizes his Arsenal team.
Positional fluidity, quick-footed technicians, left-backs placed in half-spaces, and playmaking goalkeepers are all Guardiolan ideals.
The mutual admiration society between the two in the media is intriguing. Guardiola expressed his "immense delight" at his protege's achievement last month. In December last year, Arteta spoke at length about the bond he enjoyed with his “idol”.
The two have always been ready to shout each other’s praises. Guardiola's persistent adoration for Arsenal this season may appear patronizing to the sceptic. In the aftermath of Jesus's injury, Guardiola claimed he "would prefer that he could play immediately with Arsenal".
Manchester City's manager is not as combative as some others, but he is a fierce competitor, and it's difficult to see him saying the same thing about Mohammed Salah during the run-in last year.
The components for a true rivalry are all there, and the external environment leading up to Wednesday's game has brought everything to a boil.
City has missed the flow and flare of prior seasons, losing more games this season than they did all of last year. The main issues, though, are found off the field.
The January transfer of last season's player of the year, Joao Cancelo, to Bayern Munich has left the squad depleted.
Furthermore, the Premier League penalized them this Friday for violating financial regulations 101 times in the last decade. While City has denied the allegations, the gravity of the charges has shocked the league.
If found guilty, they might be demoted and have their titles revoked.
“It’s been a confusing season in all honesty,” City Xtra writer Vayam Lahoti revealed to Al Jazeera. “Erling Haaland has been a signing unlike any other, and Guardiola signing a new deal also shows the club is working to build on its success under him. However, the way the past few months have unravelled shows that some key issues in the squad remain.
“City has hit somewhat of a stumbling block but they’re not going anywhere – unless the Premier League charges leave us relegated.”
Will Guardiola use the claims to instil in the team a siege mentality?
Harris feels the Spaniard has already begun doing that, pointing to Guardiola's words in his press conference last week where he spoke of being criticized by everyone and added "we are glad we live in a culture where everybody is innocent until proven guilty".
Arsenal has found a snag in recent weeks, taking only one point from their last two league games and were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford in their most recent game.
“The atmosphere in the stadium was one of the poorest it’s been all season, and I think nerves played a huge part in that. Until Leandrop Trossard scored, there was real concern about the performance, and how the team would react against City, and the final result did our confidence no favours,” said season-ticket holder and Arsenal fan, Rahul Lakhani.
“The City game was always huge but the nerves have been ramped up. When the team was thriving, that game was looked at with a lot more confidence than it is now, following three winless games,” he added.
Al Jazeera, Shubi Arun
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