Arsenal have the opportunity to end their six-year trophy drought by beating Manchester City at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in midweek, securing their progression into the last eight of the European competition. A stunning strike from Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the first half, before Declan Rice’s precise finish sealed the victory for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Meanwhile, City’s European exploits for the season came to an end as they were dumped out by Real Madrid. Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, Bernardo Silva’s early red card quelled any hopes for Pep Guardiola’s side of realistically mounting a comeback, before Los Blancos ultimately wrapped up the tie by winning 2-1 at the Etihad.
Sunday’s final now takes on extra importance for the Citizens, and here are the key battles that we believe could be pivotal in dictating the outcome of the game at Wembley.
Gabriel Magalhaes vs Erling Haaland
When you think of Arsenal against Manchester City in recent years, you think of the individual battle between the Gunners’ centre-backs and Erling Haaland. Specifically, the needle between Gabriel Magalhaes and the Norwegian has made for excellent viewing.
After Haaland told Arsenal players to ‘be humble’ in the clash at the Etihad last season, Gabriel responded by celebrating in the striker’s face in the reverse fixture at the Emirates. There is genuine animosity between the two players, and this should make for an intense physical battle.
Thankfully for Gabriel, he comes into this game in significantly better form than his counterpart. Haaland has scored just three non-penalty goals in his last 19 appearances, while the Brazilian has performed outstandingly on a consistent basis for the best defensive team in the world.
Gabriel will be confident in his ability to handle Haaland and his elusive movement.
Jurrien Timber vs Jeremy Doku
Jurien Timber is a doubt for this game after sustaining an ankle injury against Everton last week. Arteta will no doubt be doing everything in his power to have the Dutchman available because ultimately, Arsenal need him.
Jeremy Doku is likely to be deployed off the left for City, and the Belgian winger has been one of the most prolific dribblers in Europe this campaign. Completing 4.61 dribbles per 90 minutes, Doku is in the 98th percentile for this metric.
Make the challenge. Drive the team forward. 💪
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 2, 2024
Love it, Jurrien! 👏 pic.twitter.com/6tQdoQ0dct
Thus, Arsenal need a lockdown defender to deal with City’s primary attacking outlet. If Timber can nullify Doku by aggressively pressing him whenever he receives a progressive pass, then the Gunners will have a good chance of negating City’s threat entirely.
Eberechi Eze vs Rodri
Ordinarily, Bukayo Saka is the Arsenal attacker locked in the most important duel for the Gunners, with the outcome of the winger’s individual battle with his full-back usually having a significant impact on the game. However, the 24-year-old isn’t quite firing on all cylinders, while Eberechi Eze appears to have stepped up.
| Eberechi Eze’s statistics this season (all competitions) | |
| Appearances | 40 |
| Goals | 9 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Shots per 90 | 2.67 |
| Expected Goals per 90 (non-penalty) | 0.23 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.14 |
The former Crystal Palace man is Arsenal’s most in-form attacking player, and the feeling is that he’s the Gunners’ most likely match-winner heading into Sunday. The encounter in north-west London is likely to be tight and cagey, and it may ultimately be decided by one moment of individual brilliance – Eze is the most likely to deliver this.
That said, Rodri will be tasked with trying to minimise the threat created by Eze, and he has the capacity to do this effectively. It’ll be up to Eze to try to elude the Ballon d’Or winner’s presence with clever movement, and if he’s able to, he should get a shooting opportunity around the edge of the box to punish City.
