Arsenal v Manchester City 8th April 2012
Arsenal v Manchester City
Second placed Manchester City could well go into their game some eight points behind leaders Manchester United who play QPR at Old Trafford a couple of hours before they kick off against Champions League chasing Arsenal at the Emirates City’s recent form is costing them with just one win in their last four to go with a defeat and two draws, this after a run of seven wins in eight matches
City will be looking to bounce back after losing their 100% home record with a 3-3 draw against Sunderland last Saturday
Arsenal also had a disappointing weekend losing their unbeaten run of seven matches in the PL, with a 2—1 defeat at relegation threatened QPR, which had seem the climb into third place in the battle for a Champions League place with Spurs and Chelsea
Arsene Wenger’s run of seven wins started after a disappointing 0-0 draw at the Reebok back in the first week of February
The Gunners defeat at Loftus Road was their first in the PL since losing 2-1 at PL leaders Manchester United
At the Emirates this season Arsenal have the fourth best home record in the PL with 35 points out of a possible 45 from 11 wins and two draws to go with two defeats, the defeat were at the hands of the two teams with more league titles than them, Liverpool and Manchester United
At home they have the second meanest defence after Manchester City with just 12 goals conceded, two more than City
On the road City have the second best record in the PL after league leader United with 25 points, some 14 fewer than United, from seven wins and four draws to go with four defeats
After starting the season with five wins and two draws on the road, they have seen that form disappear with just two wins in their last eight road trips to go with four defeats and two draws
They have only scored three goals in their last seven away matches after scoring 25 in their first eight away matches
The Gunners have won four in a row at the Emirates since losing 2-1 to Manchester United back in January
After failing to score in their first home match of the season, a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool, they have scored in 14 consecutive matches at home
Robin van Persie has been the first scorer in six of their 15 PL home matches
In two of their last three home matches they have conceded first but come back to win, against Newcastle and Tottenham
Robin van Persie is the leading scorer in the PL this season with 26 goals, five more than next on the list Wayne Rooney, with 15 of his goals coming at the Emirates
Leading the way for City in third place on the PL goal scoring list is Argentinian strike Sergio Aguero with 17 goals but only four of them have come away from the Etihad Stadium
Top scorer for City on the road is Edin Dzeko with nine goals but six of those were before then end of October
City along with Liverpool and Spurs have used the fewest different starts in the PL this season with 21, four fewer than the Gunners
Arsenal have used the most players 21 or under in the Pl with 14, some 10 more than City have used, only Stoke have used fewer
City are the second leading scorers in the PL with 75 goals, one fewer than neighbours United, and some13 more than City
We could be in for some late drama in this game with City scoring 14 goals in the last 10 minutes of matches and the Gunners 13, only United with 15 have scored more
City also have a superior defensive record with just 25 goals conceded, the fewest in the Pl, and some 16 fewer than Arsenal who have the ninth best defensive record
City have yet to concede a goal in the opening 16 minutes of a PL match this season and have only conceded six first half goals all season
Until the match against Sunderland last Saturday City had not trailed at half time in any PL match this season whilst the Gunners have only trailed four times and only once come back to win, losing the other three
Both teams have failed to score just four times this season in the PL
City have scored three or more goals 17 times this season compared to nine times for the Gunners
City have kept 13 clean sheets compared to 10 by Arsenal
City conceded three goals for the first time this season ion their 3-3 draw at home to Sunderland
Goalkeeper Joe Hart is City’s only ever present start all 31 PL matches, four more than David Silva but the Spaniard has come on in three more matches as a substitute
Sergio Aguero is City’s most substituted player coming off in 18 of 24 starts, five more than Silva
City are the only team to have three players in double figures in goal scoring, Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli
Arsenal’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is their only ever present as well, although van Persie has started 30 games and come on as a replacement in the other
Theo Walcott is the Gunners most substituted player coming of 16 times in 28 starts; although Gervinho has been substituted in 75% of his starts, 12 out of 16
The Gunners have scored just one penalty compared to seven by City, with both sides missing one, only Sunderland have scored as few penalties as the Gunners
Attacking Stats
Defensive Stats
Leading Scorers
http://www.statbunker.com/football/btb/index.php?PL=competition&CompID=373&statType=top_scorers
Fixture History
Earlier in the season City were 1-0 winners at the Etihad Stadium thanks to a 52nd minute strike from Spanish midfielder David Silva
The last two matches at the Emirates between the two have ended in 0-0 draws
City have failed to score in their last four visits to the Emirates and the last City player to score at the Emirates in this fixture was American International DeMarcus Beasley in a 3-1 defeat some 406 minutes ago
Arsenal are unbeaten against City in the PL at home 14 matches with 10 wins and four draws
City have only scored five goals in 14 matches away to Arsenal and never more than one goal in a match
Overall in this fixture Arsenal lead with 20 wins, City have four and five matches have been drawn
Tomas Rosicky is the only current player from either side to score in the fixture at the Emirates
Check out the PL matches between the two clubs
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