The Gunners have started the 2025/26 Premier League campaign in fine form with three wins and one loss from their four games.
Arsenal in form ahead of City test
Currently sitting second behind Liverpool, the only team to beat them this season, Arsenal have conceded the joint least (one goal) and scored the most (eight) in the league.
Although City have rallied, given their great win last time out against neighbours Man Utd, they have only won two of their four Premier League games so far, losing the other two.
Eight goals scored doesn't align with Guardiola's swashbuckling style, whilst they've conceded four.
In Erling Haaland, City have the world's most in-form striker, however.
The Norwegian recently scored six in the international break, got two against United to see him atop the scoring charts this season (five goals) and his goal against Napoli meant that he broke Ruud van Nistelrooy's record as the player who reached 50 goals in the Champions League in the quickest time (49 games).
Haaland has the most shots of any Premier League player so far this season too (19) and the most shots on target (eight), whilst he also has four goals in his six English top-flight appearances against the Gunners.
19 goals in the 20 league games he's played in the capital is the best minutes-per-goal ratio (one every 93 minutes) for a player that has played at least 1000 minutes since the inception of the Premier League in an away team visiting a London side.
City generally fall flat after European exertions
Arsenal have had the upper hand on City at the Emirates Stadium of late, winning the last two in North London. That's as many games as the visitors had lost in the previous 14 meetings (W7 D5 L2), and is City's longest losing run away to the Gunners since 2009.
The visitors have also lost five of the seven league games played directly after a midweek Champions League match - including February's 5-1 loss to a rampant Arsenal side.
To put that into some sort of context, City's previous five defeats after a European assignment came over a period of 46 games in five years (W27 D14).
Furthermore, Arsenal haven't let a goal in during their last three league home games (including last season), scoring nine in the process, and only Eddie Howe's Newcastle side have conceded fewer expected goals than Arsenal (2.4) this season.
Not since 1960/61 have the Gunners won their first three home games of a season 'to nil,' and a fourth consecutive home match without conceding would represent the first time Arsenal have achieved that feat since December 2021, evidencing some defensive improvement from Arteta's squad.
Gyokeres vs Haaland for the win?
In Viktor Gyokeres, the North Londoners have a marksman not yet at Haaland's level, but one who shows great promise as an asset and focal point for his side.
His three Premier League goals so far have shown how clinical the Swedish international can be given that he has the fifth-best shot conversion rate (42.9%) at this point. Haaland ranks 14th with 26.3% by comparison.
As with every clash between these two sides, there's a lot riding on the outcome, despite the fact that this Super Sunday clash comes so early in the season.
For a start, if City fail to win again, it will be the fifth time in a row they've been unable to get the better of the Gunners in a league game. That's something which has never happened to Guardiola in his entire managerial career.
Were Arsenal to emerge victorious, it would be the first time in a decade that they've managed to win back-to-back games against City, so the motivation is there to put some daylight between themselves and the serial Premier League winners.
Injuries a problem for both sides
Both teams have been rocked by injuries to key players, and that may well be something that also affects the outcome of this game.
Arsenal are missing Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White. For City, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic are definitely out, whilst Omar Marmoush will likely have a late fitness test to determine whether he starts or plays some part in the match.
It promises to be another mouth-watering affair between two teams who like to pass the ball around and move through the gears quickly.
Although it's still very early in the season, City can ill afford a third defeat from five games to start the campaign, and how aggressively they press Arsenal as well as how well the hosts can combat the same is likely to be the story of the afternoon.
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