How will Arteta set Arsenal up for Man City showdown?
City set up in a 4-2-4 block with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki blocking the middle of the pitch, while Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku pressed Arsenal 's centre-backs, angling their bodies in ways that blocked passes to the full-backs. City's 4-2-4 allowed Arsenal 's central defenders to keep the ball, engaging less proactively compared with Bournemouth . The key for City was to make it hard for Arsenal to access their midfield duo, while giving them reasons to doubt the pass into their full-backs, and ultimately enticing Arteta's team to play the ball long where City then had a back four and one or two midfielders back - ready to mop up loose passes.
City's 4-2-4 defensive shape is seen here against Arsenal. Haaland and Cherki were tasked with blocking passes into the midfielders whilst Doku and Semenyo had the job of pressing the central defenders and blocking the passing angle from Arsenal's centre-backs to their full-backs. Bournemouth looked to apply pressure more aggressively.
Instead of lining up with a flat front four, their left-sided midfielder James Tavernier moved inside to support his central midfielders - particularly when Kai Havertz dropped deep looking to form a midfield three with Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice. This decision left Ben White free at right-back, but striker Evanilson constantly looked to curve his runs to block off passes to the right, making accessing the full-back harder. City and Bournemouth 's press differed slightly but there were principles both used that were effective - one being how both sides looked to funnel Arsenal 's play down the left.
Gabriel was challenged to dictate the game from deep areas, something his counterpart William Saliba is better at. When play was forced down that side, Andoni Iraola's team were able to lock on in a man-to-man fashion. When this happened, Arsenal 's players and coach alike often gestured to Gabriel to look long for striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Since the turn of year, Arsenal have leaned into attacking the spaces that open up when opponents press man-to-man with the likes of Noni Madueke, Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz, in theory, having the underlying skillset to punish teams in transition. The issue against Bournemouth was that Sweden forward Gyokeres, contrary to his physical frame, has struggled to win his individual duels against Premier League defenders, leading to Arsenal failing to dominate possession and get up the pitch. His strengths instead lie in getting his team forward by running the channels, where he showcases strong ball-carrying ability.