Premier League: Manchester City goes head-to-head with Arsenal in Project Restart

The English Premier League (EPL) is finally back in action after three months hiatus.

With 20 prominent football clubs competing against each other, the EPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). It has come to a standstill since March 10, due to the corona pandemic.

Project Restart, the name for the resumption of the Premier League, will take place on March 18, 2020.

Continuing from Leicester City, who has gone against Aston Villa before the adjourn, Project Restart will see Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium at 3:15 AM (MYT), and Aston Villa going against Sheffield United at Villa Park at 1:00 AM (MYT).

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Football returns to England: All eyes on Manchester City and Arsenal

The match between Manchester City and Arsenal is the topic of the town now, and sports fans are dying to see how the derby will turn out.

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But after such a long pause, Pep Guardiola, the big boss for Manchester City, thinks his boys are not ready. He says the boys are not in tip-top condition in terms of fitness, and so are other teams. Pep comments that all of the players are not fully fit due to the two months break, and all that happened during the break was a lot of lying on the sofa and doing nothing much. 

Nonetheless, Pep believes that resuming the Premier League is the right thing to do because the damage to all clubs economically must be as minimum as possible.

Other than the physical condition of the boys, Pep is also iffy about maintaining their ranking on the Premier League table, as they have other matches to focus on, which are the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Manchester City will also find out if their appeal over a two-season UEFA ban is successful in the coming month. Man City currently ranks 2^nd on the Premier League table.

Pep suffered the impact of the coronavirus pandemic when his mother died in Spain due to the virus.

Mikel Arteta under the then-assistant-now-coach spotlight

Mikel Arteta, who was tested positive for COVID-19 back in March, used to be an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola for the Man City team. When the opportunity came for Arteta to rise as head coach of Arsenal, he took the offer immediately.

After being in the shadow of Pep for close to four years, Mikel looks forward to showcasing his skills and moving the Arsenal boys up the Premier League chart. He also wants to be viewed as his own man and carve out a name in his own right.

Pep praises Arteta for his years of contribution in leading the club to succeed and in shaping who they are today.

Pep also comments that Arteta has the upper hand for this match because he is very familiar with all of the tricks and tactics Man City implements. However, Pep has no concern over that matter and intends for the team to come out on top.

Pep congratulates Arteta on his promotion and looks forward to seeing him shine on the field. To date, Pep and Arteta are still great partners. On the other hand, Mikel anticipates the game very much and is eager to share his knowledge and shrewd with Arsenal.

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Man City VS Arsenal – Team and players’ performance

Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers, both defenders for Arsenal will not be joining the rest on the 2019/20 Premier League resumption due to the right shoulder injury, and knee ligament damage, respectively. Fortunately, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney, and Cedric Soares have recovered from their injuries and will be getting back on the field.

On the other hand, Leroy Aziz Sané, who has been absent for most of the season due to a knee ligament injury, will be joining Pep and the boys on the resumption. According to Michael Brown, a former footballer, and football manager, Sané will play a crucial role in helping Man City finish the season strongly. Kyle Walker is the only player in Man City that will not be joining the matches.

Before the long break, Manchester City has lost two of their previous four league games, which leaves them 25 points behind Liverpool, who presently ranks 1^st in the Premier League table. Man City’s last game was a derby at Old Trafford, which ended with a defeat of 2-0 against Manchester United. This defeat was also Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first double since the retirement of Sir Alex.

With a total of seven league defeats, this is Pep’s worst season by far. However, Manchester City has some of the brightest talents, and many still have great faith in them.

Although Arsenal beat West Ham in the last league game, the season has been enduring for them, with only nine wins out of 28 league games. Goalkeeper Bernd Leno was given a moniker, Man of the Match, for his exceptional saves that kept Arsenal in the running for the league. On the flip side of the coin, this has proved Arteta’s poor defensive abilities. With only five points away from the top five and to be in the running for Champions League, Arsenal currently ranks 5th in the EPL.