After a frustrating week which saw City miss the chance to reduce Liverpool’s deficit to just two points, the blues welcome Arsenal, hoping to continue the recent good form against the Gunners. Victory will see the blues move closer to the leaders, albeit temporarily as Liverpool play at West Ham on Monday night.
This fixture was once an anticipated Arsenal win, but recently they have struggled to walk away with anything in Manchester, but what do the stats say about this fixture?
The blues have lost just three of the last thirteen matches at home to Arsenal, winning seven and drawing two, scoring 27 and conceding 18. That run is a stark comparison to the previous 13 matches, when the blues won just one match, a 1-0 home win in December 1991, while losing 11 of those games. This included a run of eight successive defeats between December 1994 and May 2006, where City scored just seven goals, compared to Arsenal’s tally of 24.
City are unbeaten in three matches at home to Arsenal, winning two and drawing one and the corresponding fixture last season saw the blues triumph 3-1. The blues longest unbeaten run at home to Arsenal currently stands at seven matches, achieved between December 1894 and April 1905, when the blues won six and drew one, with the run including three 4-1 victories.
The highest scoring game between the two sides came in December 2013, when City beat the Gunners 6-3, but the biggest winning margin for City is 4-0, which came in January 1908 when Arsenal were then known as Woolwich Arsenal. City’s heaviest home defeat is the 5-1 hammering in February 2003, when a Thierry Henry masterclass performance saw him receive a standing ovation from City’s appreciative fans. That was the second time the Gunners had put five past the bleus at home, the other coming as far back as November 1925, when Arsenal won 5-2.
Sunday’s match will be the 96th meeting between the two sides, with City winning 35 to Arsenal’s 37, with 23 draws, so City still have a bit of catching up to do on the Gunners. In 1973, Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Maine Road meant both teams had won exactly 20 matches apiece in this fixture.
The teams have met 12 times in February in the past, and it isn’t a happy month for the blues to play the Gunners at home. From those 12 matches, City have won just once, a 1-0 win on 12th February 1977. Six of the matches have been drawn and Arsenal have come away with five wins in this month. City and Arsenal have played once on 3rd February, back in 1968 when the two teams drew 1-1. It will be interesting to note that the blues went on to win the title three months later!
Who will come out on top at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow? Join us to find out.