By Bulldog Drummond
Just to get yourself in the mood, and before we start the normal rundown, you catch one of the previous games – just click on “Watch the video”
Interestingly this game which is at 1230 on Saturday, seemingly hasn’t sold out. The Manchester City website is, at the time of writing (Thursday afternoon) is advertising tickets from £40.
Arsenal are still unfortunately top of the injury league with seven men down. Our nearest rivals are Brighton and Hove, Leicester and Manchester United all of whom are also showing seven each. Leeds have one man out and are bottom of the injury list. Details are from Premier League injuries
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Potential Return | Test? | Status |
| Edward Nketiah | Ankle/Foot Injury | Ankle Injury | 11/09/2021 | No | Ruled Out |
| Thomas Partey | Ankle/Foot Injury | High Ankle Sprain | 11/09/2021 | No | Ruled Out |
| Hector Bellerin | Thigh Injury | Tight Quadriceps | 28/08/2021 | No | 50% |
| Kieran Tierney | Thigh Injury | Cramp | 28/08/2021 | No | 75% |
| Willian | Other | Coronavirus Disease | 28/08/2021 | No | 25% |
| Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes | Knee Injury | Patellar Tendonitis | 28/08/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 25% |
| Runar Alex Runarsson | Other | Coronavirus Disease | 28/08/2021 | No | 50% |
In addition we have Saka who got clumped by an irate West Bromwich Albonian near the end of the game, and there is no information on how serious that clumping was and whether he will be fit to play.
We are of course still way ahead of Manchester City in the head to head stakes, as reflects their historic impoverishment. We’ve won 98, they’ve won 60 and 45 have been drawn. But having unlimited cash and a compliant or incompetent Uefa regulatory body has meant that they are catching up.
Indeed the last time we beat them in the league was 21 December 2015, when Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scored, and Yaya Toure got a consolation for them at the end. Since then we have beaten them twice in the FA Cup, the most recent being in July last year, with a 2-0 win. Otherwise in the last 12 games in the league it is one win for us and a couple of draws.
The only players left at Arsenal from that day of the last victory are Hector Bellerin, who is about to move on we hear, and Calum Chambers who came on as a sub in the 88th minute.
So it is probably too much to ask that we shall see the fun and games of 6 October 1956 when we beat them 7-3 in the 1st Division game. Our scorers that day were Cliff Holton with four, Jimmy Bloomfield, Dennis Evans with a penalty and Joe Haverty.
Even worse for us today is the fact that in the last seven games against them in the league we have only scored one goal – that being scored by Koscielny. But if you want to think of happier times we have a collection of ten victories over Manchester City on video here.
Through this transfer window Manchester City have brought in three players: Kayky from Fluminense for £8.6m, Darío Sarmiento from Estudiantes for £5.2m and then the big one: Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m.
Perhaps more interesting is the number of players that have been let go either on loan or permanently and comparing this with Arsenal.
| Club | Bought | Sold | Loaned out |
| Manchester City | 3 players | 5 players | 19 players |
| Arsenal | 5 players | 8 players | 10 players |
This might look as if Arsenal are doing the most buying and selling but when we remember that one of Manchester City’s purchases (Grealish) equals the cost of all ours put together, we can see the different type of environments we are operating in.
The one thing in the statistics that puts us a bit closer to them is the record of games so far this season
Manchester City
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 2021 | Leicester City v Manchester City | L | 1-0 | Community Shield |
| 15 Aug 2021 | Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 21 Aug 2021 | Manchester City v Norwich City | W | 5-0 | Premier League |
Arsenal
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Aug 2021 | Brentford v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 22 Aug 2021 | Arsenal v Chelsea | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 25 Aug 2021 | West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal | W | 0-6 | League Cup |
So, each team has won one, and lost two. Arsenal have a goal difference of 6 to 4, while Manchester City has a goal difference of 5 to 2. So they are still slightly ahead of us on goal difference, but at least we have scored more goals than them – although against less threatening clubs.
More anon.
- The 18 players leaving Arsenal, and who’s left in the 25 man squad.
- Preparing for Man City who have made their worst start to the season since…
Mendy of Man City is in police custody charged with 4 rapes and one other offence, which makes it difficult for the pundits/commentators to swing away into their Arsenal in disintegration reverie.
The pall overhanging the ground will come from the direction of the Cheshire Police Force.