Arsenal and Manchester City will compete in the Premier League on Saturday but both sides will be without some players who are on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
There has been discussions around how the tournament is spoken about after players were asked if they would prefer to stay at their clubs rather than go and play internationally. Among the stars involved in the tournament are City and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Arsenal and Ghana’s Thomas Partey.
Former Arsenal player Ian Wright has said the talk is “disrespectful”, saying on Instagram: “Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations?
“There is no greater honour than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism.
“We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.
“There are players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?”
Here’s all you need to know about the Premier League clash.
When is it?
The match will kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday, 1 January at the Emirates Stadium.
How can I watch?
The fixture will be available to watch on Sky Sports and subscribers can stream the match via the Sky Go app.
If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Team news
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be in isolation for the match. Meanwhile Man City are without Kyle Walker and John Stones who aren’t fully fit. Phil Foden has been ruled out with what City says is a lack of fitness.
Confirmed line-ups
Arsenal: Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Gabriel, White, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard; Martinelli, Saka, Lacazette.
Subs: Leno, Smith Rowe, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Cedric, Pepe, Tavares, Lokonga, Elneny.
Man City: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias (C), Laporte, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez.
Subs: Steffen, Walker, Gundogan, Grealish, Fernandinho, Kayky, Mbete, Palmer, McAtee.
Odds
Arsenal - 9/2
Draw - 7/2
Man City - 1/2
Prediction
Pep Guardiola’s side should extend their top spot in the league with a convincing victory. Arsenal 1-4 Man City.
