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Until recently, Arsenal’s trials and tribulations mattered little to Manchester City. Pep Guardiola and his players had more important considerations than the long-term rebuild that was taking place in north London, and the matches between the two groups were ridiculously one-sided.
From Guardiola’s appointment in 2016 to the start of last season, City have faced Arsenal 12 times in the league. Guardiola has won 11 of those meetings, with an astonishing 30-6 aggregate scoreline. Arsenal simply wasn’t a concern, and didn’t pose a risk to City’s quest for Premier League and Champions League glory.
However, about 18 months ago, the dynamic between those two contrasting clubs (new cash in Manchester, old cash in London) began to be replaced. Not necessarily in terms of effects (that replacement only happened at the beginning of this season). still in terms of attitudes and perceptions.
For the promising young Arsenal, buoyed by the signings of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from City, the sense has grown that Guardiola’s side can, despite everything, be beatable. For City, it soon became apparent that Mikel Arteta, their former manager, was starting to pose a threat.
In other words, City have started to take Arsenal seriously. Their games have taken a new turn and last year there was acrimony for this game. City and Arsenal have once again fought for the same prizes. As a result, there is now a point of resentment and resentment that in the past did not exist between those parties.
In last season’s league match at the Emirates, for example, Kevin De Bruyne angrily pushed Arteta to the touchline after the Arsenal manager prevented him from taking a throw-in. De Bruyne then pointed the finger at his former coach.
A few months later, at the end of their league match at the Etihad Stadium, Ben White faced Phil Foden. White, visibly furious, grabbed Foden by the back of his shirt. The two England internationals argued until their teammates separated them.
And before this season, in the moments after Gabriel Martinelli’s goal for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Kyle Walker clashed with Nicolas Jover, Arteta’s manager and former City employee. Walker later explained that Jover turned down a handshake when teams met last season, and so this time he “didn’t take it lightly” when Jover approached him to shake hands.
Also off the pitch, inside Arsenal there is a sense that they are now being seen through City and their main decision-makers.
In the summer of 2022, despite their notorious displeasure over the nature of Arteta’s departure a few years earlier, City voluntarily sold Jesus and Zinchenko to Arsenal, for a combined payment of around £75 million. Last summer, as understood by Telegraph Sport, they were particularly less cooperative. Arsenal were interested in signing Joao Cancelo, but City were again unwilling to join Arteta’s side.
Declan Rice’s defeat was also another indication of Arsenal’s progress. First of all, because it showed that City and Arsenal are now competing for the same players. Secondly, because Arsenal won. City have made a £90m offer to West Ham, but Arsenal feel in control of the situation and Rice is excited about the prospect of moving to the Emirates.
While the signing of Rice marked the first blow in Arsenal’s war against City this season, the Community Shield was temporarily the second. Arsenal won on penalties, after a late equaliser through Leandro Trossard, and their players spoke of a mental hurdle overcome.
“It’s a statement,” Aaron said Ramsdale. Es a sign to know that we can beat City in an important game when needed. I’m not sure what this season will be like, but that brainblock is overcome. We’re in a position to go through now. “
In their next meeting, in October, Arsenal triumphed again. Two wins in a row for Arsenal, after so many years of humiliating defeats (apart from the FA Cup semi-final in 2020), and the concern for the afterlife turns out to have been replaced by a genuine sense of confidence.
Sunday’s Etihad, of course, will be another challenge. And the apparent answer to all this, from City’s point of view, is that Arsenal have yet to win anything significant. Last season, in a race for the name of two men, City won both games and also knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup. Their dominance remains but, when it comes to Arsenal, it is being tested more seriously than at any time in the last decade.
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