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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 8
Arsenal v Manchester City
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Sunday, 8 October 2023
Kick-off is at 17h30
Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from their first
Premier League defeat of the season when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, October 8.
The Citizens saw plenty of the ball at Molineux on September 30 without posing much of a threat as Wolves ran out 2-1 victors to bring an end to their perfect record in the top flight.
Pep Guardiola's side are now just one point clear of Tottenham (2nd) and the Gunners (3rd), who beat Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively to maintain their unbeaten starts to the campaign.
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The North London duo leapfrogged the Reds in the standings, while Aston Villa (5th) climbed into the European places after they thrashed Brighton 6-1 at Villa Park.
The 2023 Community Shield winners, who beat City on penalties, thumped the Cherries 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium, where Kai Havertz bagged his first goal for his new club.
Martin Odegaard has made a promising start to 2023-24 and had a hand in all four goals on the south coast, scoring from the spot in the 44th minute and proving the delivery for Ben White to head home his free-kick in stoppage time. The Norwegian midfielder had earlier crossed for Gabriel Jesus to steer a header against the left post, which was nodded over the line by Bukayo Saka and he was brought down for the penalty that Havertz converted.
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Julian Alvarez gave City hope when he equalised with an exquisitely-taken free-kick that beat Jose Sa at his near post in the 58th minute. The visitors didn't create many clear-cut chances and they resorted to shots from range on several occasions. It was the Argentine striker's first goal in three games and took his tally for the season to three along with four assists in seven appearances.
Arteta believes Havertz's maiden goal in Arsenal colours will do his confidence the world of good after the Germany international came in for criticism from some quarters for not making much of an impact in his first six games.
"It will probably change everything, but first of all if he had any question marks about how we feel about him, how much we love him, how much we appreciate everything that he does, I think that's out," the Spaniard said.
"I think in sport, Usain Bolt said it once, 'I have to train four years to run nine seconds', sometimes you have to do a lot and you don't see that, but in that moment you see it, I'm sure what he's been through in the last few weeks, this moment is worth every moment of the other moments."
Guardiola, who was watching from the stands at Molineux as he served a touchline ban, admitted Wanderers were far better in transitions as they caught the visitors out a few times down the right flank.
"We didn't properly do our process to attack with a bit more fluidity and that was why we struggled a little bit," the Spaniard said. "In the transitions, Neto was better than us.
"They beat us in that position not because we were disorganised, but they were better in that position that we could defend well. It was a difficult game to play we knew it and they played really well and congratulations [to Wolves]."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Arsenal - 0
Man City - 5
Draws - 0
Premier League Matchday 8 fixtures:
Saturday, October 7
13h30: Luton Town v Tottenham Hotspur
16h00: Burnley v Chelsea
16h00: Everton v Bournemouth
16h00: Fulham v Sheffield United
16h00: Manchester United v Brentford
18h30: Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
Sunday, October 8
15h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool
15h00: West Ham United v Newcastle United
15h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa
17h30: Arsenal v Manchester City
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