Arsenal v Manchester City – Head To Head

Premier League football is back and the blues kick off their title defence with a testing match at Arsenal, a place that has not been a happy hunting ground over the years. The blues did enjoy success last season with a thumping 3-0 win, but it was only their second win at the home of the Gunners since 1975.

That 3-2 was only City’s seventh win at the Arsenal since their first meeting in 1920, that game ending 2-2. City first won at Arsenal in September 1921, a 1-0 win and repeated the feat with a 2-1 in October 1923. That was their last win at the Gunners until the blues won 3-2 in September 1935. Nine league and one FA Cup matches stood between the two victories, with City losing eight and drawing two. The victory in 1935 was followed by a 3-1 win in December 1936, and it would be another eighteen years before they tasted victory again.

September 1954 saw the blues win 3-2 and nine years passed before they repeated the scoreline in April 1963. Seven games separated the wins, with Arsenal wining six of them. A 2-1 win in November 1971 preceded that victory in 1975 before the barren years. The blues faced Arsenal twenty eight times and only came away from Highbury or The Emirates with a draw on eight occasions, losing the other twenty.

City have endured five losing streaks at Arsenal, with their first between September 1929 and January 1933, when the blues lost five consecutive games. The second between October 1956 and September 1961, when the blues lost six on the bounce. Between February 1981 and October 1989, City lost seven straight games, and then in a fifteen year spell between August 1994 and April 2009, the blues lost nine matches, interrupted only by a 1-1 draw in January 2005.

City’s heaviest losing margin at Arsenal is five goals, when they lost 5-0 in October 2000. The most goals conceded in one game came in October 1956 when City lost 7-3. City biggest with came last season at The Emirates, when they won 3-0 on their way to the Premier League title.

The last goalless draw between the two came in January 2001, and there have been eight such draw in the history of the two teams. The highest score draw is 2-2 and has been achieved on five occasions, the last being in April 2017.

In 75 games, the blues have failed to score in 33 games, while they have prevented Arsenal from scoring on just 10 occasions. The two teams have never met each other outside of the top flight and have faced each other in the League Cup four times and the FA Cup just twice.

How will this game end? Let us know your predictions.