Arsenal have had a miserable start to their Premier League campaign. An unexpected defeat at divisional newcomers Brentford, followed by a humbling home loss to London rivals Chelsea left the Gunners in an utterly inconvenient situation of travelling to face the champions in search of points.To make the fixture even more intriguing, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will have to outsmart his old mentor Pep Guardiola and his championship-winning side. But for all the troubles, the young coach is determined to show his worth and defy everyone who’s already calling for him to be sacked. A convincing EFL Cup win over WBA in midweek must have boosted the confidence of Arsenal players -even though it’s been achieved over second-tier opposition. Six goals scored offer hope that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette would hit form and start finding the net in league games.▪️ PSG: Messi, Donnarumma, Ramos, Wijnaldum, Hakimi – £54m▪️ Man Utd: Sancho, Varane, Ronaldo – £121m▪️ Man City: Grealish – £100m▪️ Chelsea: Lukaku – £97.5m▪️ Barcelona: Garcia, Depay, Aguero – £0Yet, the biggest spenders of the transfer window…Arsenal – £135m pic.twitter.com/BNYOg3SrnE— PF | Transfer News (@PurelyFootball) August 27, 2021 Arteta must be hoping and praying that a good performance at The Hawthorns could be translated into a mature Premier League display.”After losing, you want to win straight away. It lifts the confidence, the mood, and this is what we’re here for. It was a big performance at West Bromwich and we’re through in the cup and our focus is travelling to Manchester to face the champions. We have to be at our best. Getting some of those big players big certainly helps for any team. For example, with Aubameyang and Lacazette: they are our goalscorers, they’re the biggest threats in the team. We know how crucial that is for us our success.”They’ve spent, now it’s time to sell: Arsenal looking to offload biggest earnersManchester City are likely to enjoy the vast majority of possession on Saturday. According to Arteta, that is something you have to be ready for. It’s all about waiting for your chance and taking it when it comes.”It’s the level that City read the game and the level that you have to be mentally ready for, to run for long periods of the game without touching the ball to sacrifice and being prepared to suffer in the right moments. But as well, having the conviction that we’re going to have moments in the game and when those opportunities arise.”Regardless of any speculation surrounding the Emirates Stadium club, Guardiola is backing his pupil for success with Arsenal in the long term.”Two games. Arsenal have played only two games, not 20 or 50. Sometimes I think the managers are crazy to do the job. They trust a lot in Mikel because they spend money to reinforce the team.”Pep Guardiola has had a big impact on Mikel Arteta 📖 pic.twitter.com/58kFidwETR— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) August 26, 2021 Manchester City are again without playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as the Belgian still struggles with an ankle injury. Phil Foden will also miss the game with a foot injury. Benjamin Mendy won’t play because he is still in custody over rape accusations. In the visiting team, Bukayo Saka will likely return after sustaining a knock on his knee in midweek. Defender Ben White is out with Covid-19 while midfielders Eddie Nketiah and Thomas Partey miss out with ankle injuries.PREMIER LEAGUE – Round 3Saturday14.30: (1.33) Man.City (5.20) Arsenal (9.00)17.00: (2.65) Newcastle (3.25) Southampton (2.70)17.00: (4.10) Norwich (3.50) Leicester (1.90)17.00: (2.10) Aston Villa (3.30) Brentford (3.70)17.00: (1.57) West Ham (4.00) Crystal Palace (6.00)17.00: (2.50) Brighton (3.10) Everton (3.00)19.30: (2.65) Liverpool (3.20) Chelsea (2.75)Sunday16.00: (1.50) Tottenham (4.10) Watford (7.00)16.00: (2.95) Burnley (3.35) Leeds (2.40)18.30: (4.40) Wolverhampton (3.50) Man.Utd. (1.85)***odds are subject to change
