Arsenal

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Gunners came into this game after an impressive win in Bilbao where the substitutes' bench proved the difference - and it was the 'finishers' who rescued a point on Sunday.

The £250m Arsenal spent this summer means the club have given Mikel Arteta an abundance of options when things are not going his way, but his team selection in big games is going to be key if the Gunners are to lift a trophy this season.

Having started with the same central midfield - Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino - as in midweek, it was clear early on in the first half that Arsenal needed some more attacking flair on the pitch.

The same trio also began the 1-0 loss to Liverpool and led to criticism of Arteta's conservative approach when playing against some of their rivals.

The home supporters in the stadium became increasingly frustrated with their side's lack of creativity, despite the efforts of Noni Madueke who was the most threatening player in the opening 45 minutes.

Arteta brought on Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka at the break and the impact was immediate as Arsenal upped the ante and managed to pen City in for large spells.

This has been an excellent week for Gabriel Martinelli who has scored two important goals in two games after a difficult time in his career.

However, the questions will continue to come for Arteta about why his side cannot start matches in the same manner they have finished the last two.

Mikel Arteta spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Arsenal's draw against Manchester City: "At the very least [we deserved a point].

"I'm so proud of my players, the way we played, the way we dominated almost every aspect of the game. Very disappointed not to win the game."

On City's goal: "We had the situation, five against two, a lot of a scramble over the ball and in that moment, that split second, Halland runs on and they attacked the space in a great way - that's the quality they have.

"We are in the top end of the pitch, cross the ball and a lot of things have to happen but that's their quality."

On chances for City: "One is a corner, another is a counter attack and the other is a giveaway. That's it. To keep City to just that, chapeau to the boys."

On Arsenal's performance: "I think we played better than last year when we beat them. Much better."

On Martinelli scoring off the bench: "Very happy, that is what they're here for. Ebs [Eze] as well with the ball he plays to Gabi, the timing of the run and the quality of the finish is unbelievable."

On subs making an impact: "They are all going to play. They will all have opportunity. We're going to need them at that level. There is no question that that is something very necessary."

On being five points behind Liverpool: "We cannot control that. They win every match. It's going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine."

Gabriel Martinelli also spoke to MOTD after Sunday's draw: "Of course we wanted to win the game.

"I think we created a lot of chances during the game and were just a bit unlucky in certain moments. Happy with the goal but we didn't want to draw the game, we wanted to win it so let's keep working to win those ones."

On his goal: "I saw Ebs [Eze] getting the ball and I tried to make eye contact with him and once the ball was open, I made the movement and it was a great ball from him. I just tried to put it in the back of the net."

On making an impact from the bench: "I work for those moments. I leave [selection] for the gaffer, he knows what he does. I just do my best to help this football club.

"Of course, I don't want to be on the bench. I want to play 90 minutes every single game but Arteta knows what he does, he's the gaffer and everyone trusts him. We're really happy with him."

On scoring late on: "We play for Arsenal, we know how big this club is and we try our best in the games to win football matches. We didn't want to draw but, in the end, we did."

Did you know?

• Mikel Arteta is the first manager to avoid defeat in five consecutive league games against Pep Guardiola, with his Arsenal side winning twice and drawing the other three across their last five Premier League meetings with Guardiola's Manchester City.

• Manchester City recorded their lowest ever possession average by a Pep Guardiola team in a top-flight league match (today his 601st), while the two lowest have both been in games away to Arsenal in the Premier League (32.8% today, 36.5% in March 2023).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

What did you make of City's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Mikel Arteta names Leandro Trossard in his starting XI after his goal and assist in the midweek win over Athletic Bilbao. William Saliba comes into the starting XI after an ankle problem and Bukayo Saka is back on the bench after a hamstring injury.

Arsenal starting XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Trossard, Madueke, Gyokeres

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Martinelli, Eze, Mosquera, White, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Saka

Pep Guardiola names an unchanged side from the one that beat Napoli in the Champions League in midweek. City are looking for their first win against Arsenal in five matches.

Manchester City starting XI: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol,O'Reilly, Rodri, Reijnders, Silva, Foden, Doku, Haaland

Subs: Trafford, Ake, Stones, Gonzalez, Savinho, Nunes, Bobb, Mukasa, Lewis

There are three games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

Bournemouth v Newcastle (14:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Sunderland v Aston Villa (14:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Arsenal v Manchester City (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Follow all of the action and reaction here to the 14:00 games here

And find Arsenal v Man City here

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Bukayo Saka has returned to first team training ahead of today's clash against Manchester City.

The Arsenal attacker has been missing since coming off in the second half of a 5-0 win over Leeds on 23 August with a hamstring injury.

But Saka has now returned to full training to provide Mikel Arteta with a key boost ahead of the game against Pep Guardiola's team this afternoon.

Early indications are that Saka could be available for selection in today's match day squad.

Captain Martin Odegaard, who came off in last weekend's friendly win over Nottingham Forest after falling awkwardly, has also stepped up his training but it remains to be seen if he is available today with sources insisting the midfielder may not be ready.

I'm very sure about this one - Arsenal to win.

Manchester City played well in the derby, but they were up against a poor Manchester United team and Arsenal are on a different level.

They will rough City up and I can see Erling Haaland being bullied out of it. I'm not going to make him captain of my Fantasy team this week.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Two title hopefuls meet at Emirates Stadium as Arsenal look to continue their recent excellent record against rivals Manchester City. BBC Sport takes a look at the key talking points going into Sunday's game.

After a run of just two wins in 22 Premier League matches against City, the Gunners have mastered how to rattle Pep Guardiola's side of late, with two wins at the Emirates and two away draws in their past four encounters.

After thrashing them 5-1 in February, Arsenal now have the chance to secure back-to-back top-flight wins over City for the first time since December 2015.

The Gunners continued their strong start to the season with a hard-fought Champions League win at Athletic Club on Tuesday. To highlight their increased squad strength, five of their eight new summer signings started, while the two goals came from substitutes of the calibre of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

Joining them on the bench in Bilbao were the likes of William Saliba, Christian Norgaard, Miles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. "The 'finishers' are going to be more important this season sometimes than the starters," Arteta says of the impact he hopes his substitutes will have. "We can change the game there, especially with the intensity that we play and teams start to drop off."

An enlarged squad naturally gives Arteta a headache of who to select and one of the key areas he will be keen to address is a perceived lack of creativity in big games. This was again exposed in their 1-0 defeat at Liverpool last month, during which they mustered just one shot on target.

Manchester City came through their reunion with Kevin de Bruyne and his Napoli side unscathed.

The next challenge for Guardiola is to rectify their poor form against Arsenal.

He has never gone five games without a top-flight league win against an opponent, while his protegee Arteta could also become the first manager to go five league matches unbeaten against Guardiola.

Another thing that needs addressing is City's form post European fixtures.

They have lost five of their past seven matches that have immediately followed a midweek Champions League match, including their 5-1 hammering at the Emirates last season.

Their previous five such defeats came over a period of 46 games across five years.

The Gunners, who played on Tuesday, have also had two days extra rest on City.

With four goals in six Premier League appearances against Arsenal, City will again look towards talisman Erling Haaland for inspiration, especially given how well he has begun the season for club and country.

"Erling has been incredible since the start, but this season he is better than ever," Guardiola said last week. "I would say better than the Treble year [2022-23]."

Against Napoli, he scored his 50th goal on his 49th Champions League appearance, reaching the milestone in at least 13 appearances fewer than any other player in the competition's history.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney says it is time for Arsenal to take the next step as they prepare to host Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners have finished second in the table for the past three seasons and Rooney believes boss Mikel Arteta's future depends on success this season.

"I think it's now or never for Arteta being honest," Rooney told The Wayne Rooney Show.

"He has to win something major this season, in my opinion, because he has spent a lot of money, brought a lot of players in and he's probably got the best squad in the league. At least the most balanced squad and players for each position."

Under Arteta, Arsenal won the FA Cup in August 2020 but they have not added a major trophy since then.

"I think it's big pressure for him now to win the league and I think Arsenal have given him everything they can to go and do it.

"So I think it's on him the players to go and try and win that."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium (kick-off 16:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Arteta said there is a chance Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are available but they will need to be assessed after Saturday's training session as they have not yet trained with the team.

• Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres both suffered head injuries in Tuesday's Champions League win over Athletic Club but "are fine" to play.

• Meanwhile, defender William Saliba "is really pushing" to return to the matchday line-up but a final decision will be made on Saturday.

• On whether he views this as a big game for the title race: "It's about winning again and creating another good consistent moment for us. We are competing against one of the best teams in the world. It's a good test to see our level."

• He said Noni Madueke's impact on the team is "very positive" but added he is not surprised as he knew Madueke was a player that "carries threat and unpredictability."

• On the Gunners only allowing two chances from open play in their past four games: "There are still a lot of things that we can improve. We know that, but it's a very good foundation to get to where we want."

• He said they "are lucky" to have players who can impact games from the bench and "you need the quality nowadays to unlock games as to do it [play] three games a week is really difficult."

• On Gabriel Martinelli and Leonardo Trossard's recent performances and whether that has kept them in Arteta's thinking: "Yes, it does. When players are in that state, they have to be used and they have to be recognised. Whenever we need them I am sure they are going to be at their best."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to commentary of Arsenal vs Manchester City on 5 Live from 16:30 BST on Sunday

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The timing of Tim Lewis' departure comes as a shock after a hugely successful summer in the transfer market when the vice-chair played an important role.

Lewis has built a relationship with club manager Mikel Arteta and, alongside Andrea Berta, saw through the summer spend of around £250m.

Lewis, a lawyer, is a passionate advocate of financial fair play and has spoken of his concerns about the football regulator.

The 62-year-old is a strong character who is not afraid to say what he thinks, which can lead to uncomfortable conversations.

He is very respected for what he has done during his time at Arsenal and now the boardroom is set to take a new shape, just like the team on the pitch.

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal executive vice-chair Tim Lewis has left the club as the Gunners reshape their boardroom.

Lewis, who has worked with the Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) group since 2007, became a director of Arsenal in 2020 before becoming the executive vice-chair in 2023.

Stan Kroenke, acquired a 9.9% stake in Arsenal in 2007, becoming majority shareholder in 2011 and assuming 100% ownership in 2018. Both he and son Josh Kroenke became co-chairs in 2023 in the last boardroom restructure.

Josh, has been increasingly active in the club and has been pictured at games at the early part of this season and attended the PFA awards with members of the squad.

BBC Sport also understands that there will be further additions to the board from the KSE group and that Ben Winston, the film producer and Arsenal fan will join as well.

Meanwhile, current managing director Richard Garlick will take on the role of chief executive officer.

Arsenal began their Champions League group stage with a hard-fought 2-0 away win against Athletic Club as Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard came off the bench and scored.

In BBC Sport's Champions League analysis, former Everton midfielder Leon Osman discussed how new signing Eberechi Eze may have to get used to a different role with the Gunners.

Birmingham City are keen to tie 14-year-old England Under-15 goalkeeper Alfie Smith down to new deal to fend off interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Howard
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Mikel Arteta may afford himself a sense of satisfaction as he makes his way back to London today.

With the talk pre-season of how he's going to keep everyone in the Arsenal squad happy this season, few had spoken about the injuries or the importance of five substitutes in the modern game.

Managers are constantly questioned about their approach and how they can impact games with one of the clearest indications of that being through use of the subs bench. His decision to bring on Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard with just over a third of the game to go was inspired.

That is the squad depth we craved last season - he craved last season - and it delivered instantly.

Matches ebb and flow depending on game state. If behind, then the way to attack is different than if level or winning.

So, the ability to use the bench to influence and change the game state is critical in modern football - especially now teams can effectively change half the outfield players on the pitch.

But getting the timing right is important because the opposing manager will most likely react to the chess move. Perhaps Arteta just had better playing pieces to choose from but he was spot on with his timing. The instant impact of his substitutes set the narrative for the eventual outcome of yesterday's win.

The ability to rotate in subs depending on game state may be a difference maker this season.

It certainly was on Tuesday.

Find more from Chris Howard at Suburban Gooners, external and the Same Old Arsenal podcast, external