‘Arsenal Will Try To Control The Game’
- London Evening Standard reporter Simon Collings shares his thoughts on Arsenal ahead of this week’s clash against Leicester City (8:15pm kick-off)
- Arsenal beat Wolves 2-0 in their last Premier League clash on Saturday to move up to seventh place
- Collings says the Gunners will be full of confidence after their third straight league win
- Live coverage from Emirates Stadium is available from 7:15pm via LCFC TV's City On The Sofa show
City travel to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening to face a rejuvenated Arsenal side now managed by their former captain, Mikel Arteta (8:15pm kick-off).
The Gunners have won their last four games in all competitions to reach the Emirates FA Cup Semi-Finals and they also have an outside chance of moving into the Premier League's top four.
Collings, Sports Reporter for the London Evening Standard, is expecting a different Arsenal set-up to the one that has lost three of their previous four games against Leicester, under previous management.
He also believes that the Gunners will take plenty of confidence from the away victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, a result he described as one of Arsenal’s top performances of the season.
“The Wolves win was probably one of the best of Mikel Arteta’s reign as Arsenal manager, simply because they were so structured, so organised,” Collings explained.
“Those who saw that Brighton game and how they threw away the lead, know that Arsenal struggle with game management. But against Wolves, they went ahead, saw it out and got that second goal.
“For this game, it will be appreciating the threats that Leicester can pose. When Arsenal have played Leicester before, they have been so open to bombing forward and being undone by the likes of Jamie Vardy on the counter attack.
“I think this Arteta side is a bit smarter than that. I’d expect them to be like they were against Wolves - try to control the game, try and be organised and try to be structured.”
Collings admitted that the next few games will make or break Arsenal's season and their chances of securing European football for the 2020/21 campaign, as well as in their quest to secure silverware.
“The difficulty for them is that there are so many teams in between them and the top four,” he continued. “It’s a case of winning every game and praying that they can get over the line.
“But while there’s still a chance for them, Arsenal will completely go for it. And wins against Leicester and Spurs - two teams around them - could swing it in their favour.
“These next two weeks will really define the season. Obviously this week it’s Leicester, then Spurs and, next week, they play Liverpool, the champions. And then there’s an FA Cup Semi-Final against Manchester City.
“Leicester is going to set the tone for all of those games and Arteta will be fully aware of that.”
Arsenal will require their attacking talents, in particular captain and top goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, to be on top form in order to have success during that crucial run-in, according to Collings.
He added: “It’s been the same story for most of the season. If Aubameyang turns up, they can get a result, but more recently fans have started to see an appreciation for Granit Xhaka.
“He lost the captaincy, but in this new structured way that Arteta has got Arsenal playing, he’s become the rock of the team. Fans have grown in appreciation of what he does and are thankful that he ended up staying.”
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