Ivorian legend Kolo Toure has seen the best from Arsenal and Manchester City from up close. He was a member of the legendary Gunners’ Invincibles in 2003/2004 but was also playing for the Cityzens when they won their first Premier League title in 2012. So, not many people are better suited to talk about the two title contenders as they head for the six-pointer on Wednesday night.🗣️ “It’s quite difficult to stop them, there’s one team who done that very well and that’s Arsenal when they played them at the Etihad. Arsenal went man to man.”Kolo Toure highlights the strengths and weaknesses within Manchester City’s current system 🔵 pic.twitter.com/45EDeiOqBa— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 15, 2023 Toure believes the sky blues have the momentum on their side after Arsenal dropped six points in their last three games. The man who arrived to Highbury from ASEC Mimosas in 2002 sees confidence in Pep Guardiola’s team – the same confidence he and his Arsenal teammates had in that iconic “invincible” season.”When you win games, there’s a moment where you feel invincible and like you will win the next game. You have no doubts about every pass you do or control you do. City have momentum. They’re winning every single game they’re playing and the City players are used to those moments where everything is important and every mistake is costly. They are used to and know how to cope with the pressure – which is crucial.”The thing about momentum, though, is that it can switch in favour of your opponent.”At the same time, that can be tricky because if you lose one game, it can be really tough because the momentum changes again, and you start doubting, and simple passes you were making, you cannot make the same.”Pep’s call ahead of the ELP decider: “We need the Etihad to be full three hours before kick-off”Arsenal’s recent dip in results is reminiscent of the similar drop Manchester City endured in the second half of the 2011/12 season. But Roberto Mancini’s team found the calmness and the confidence back and dramatically won the title, with that legendary Sergio Aguero strike against QPR in the Premier League season’s dying seconds. This time around, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal must cope with the pressure and the noise around them.##NAJAVA_MECA_7208817##Toure believes the pressure they are under to get over the line is showing, though, and they must make the most of the low expectations of them in Wednesday’s showdown to stop the momentum swinging further to the champions.”You can feel the pressure is on them because they haven’t won the league. They want to win so much. There’s a moment when they stop playing a little bit. When they’re winning games, instead of going for the kill or keep pushing, they sit back, and you cannot do that in the Premier League – every game, you have to play for 95 minutes and try to put teams under pressure. They have to manage that better if they want to win the title. The pressure is very high and very intense.”Make sure you’re with Mozzart Sport Kenya on Wednesday night for unrivalled coverage of the big game – match preview, live coverage, players ratings and all you need to know!PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 33Tuesday21.30: (2.50) Wolverhampton (3.20) Crystal Palace (3.20)21.45: (1.85) Aston Villa (3.50) Fulham (4.40)22.00: (2.45) Leeds (3.50) Leicester (3.00)Wednesday21.30: (5.90) Nott.Forest (4.00) Brighton (1.58)21.45: (4.20) West Ham (3.60) Liverpool (1.95)21.45: (1.70) Chelsea (3.60) Brentford (5.30)22.00: (1.60) Man.City (4.10) Arsenal (6.25)Thursday21.45: (5.10) Everton (3.60) Newcastle (1.80)21.45: (2.35) Southampton (3.40) Bournemouth (3.25)22.15: (3.00) Tottenham (3.50) Man.Utd. (2.45)***odds are subject to change
