Uphill task for the Gunners

LONDON • Manchester City have beaten Arsenal in their past seven meetings in all competitions, scoring at least three times in six of those encounters.

And having met last month at the Etihad, where Pep Guardiola's side swatted aside the Gunners 3-0 to kick off the restart of the Premier League, many pundits have dismissed the chance of an upset in their FA Cup semi-final today.

The Spaniard, however, does not believe it will be a foregone conclusion at Wembley.

Asked at his virtual pre-match press conference yesterday if City would win easily, he said: "They (the critics) are wrong."

Guardiola has faced his protege Mikel Arteta only once since he left for the Emirates in December.

But, while Arsenal look set to miss out on European football for the first time since the 1995-96 season unless they can lift the Cup, the City manager has seen enough since the appointment of his former assistant to know the Gunners pose a threat to his side's chances of a second trophy this term.

"I expect a tough, tough game. They have something special with Mikel," Guardiola said. "They have team spirit - how they celebrate goals, how they fight for every ball.

"They have started to create something special. We approach Arsenal the same as every other game.

"I'm sure the right person to bring them back to the position before is Mikel - there is no better person. I have a feeling he is creating something unique. If he gets support from the club, they will be contenders."

Retaining the Cup is a priority for City, who can still end the season with their second successive treble. As such, Guardiola confirmed he would be playing his strongest possible side, with Claudio Bravo, their usual Cup goalkeeper, replaced by No. 1 Ederson.

"We are one step closer to getting to another final and we are going to try and do a good game - the FA Cup semi-final is so important."

Three years under Guardiola means that Arteta is fully aware of the dangers of a free-flowing City.

The record 13-time Cup winners, have, however, been buoyed by the 2-1 win over Liverpool on Wednesday. Arteta foresees a similar game today and, with little of the ball expected, he called on his team to take their chances.

He said at his virtual pre-match press conference yesterday: "We cannot expect to be dominant for 90 minutes and I don't want to be defending deep for 90 minutes.

"We'll have our moments as well and you know how crucial it is in big games... to make it always good and make the right decision.

"The level of difficulty will again be really, really high."

REUTERS

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