Manchester City may find Arsenal tougher to break down under Mikel Arteta than they have in recent years, according to Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Pep Guardiola's side cruised to a 3-0 win at the Emirates in December and have won their last six games against the Gunners in all competitions, with their most recent victory accelerating Arsenal's plans to lure Arteta from the Etihad.
City will enter the game as favourites as they look to consolidate second position when the Premier League returns.
However, Arteta has been praised for the impact he has had since taking over. Not only will he have more of an inside track on the Blues than most opposition coaches do, he will also have had time during the last month to get more ideas across to his own players.
In five of the last six meetings City have scored three goals, but former City star Wright-Phillips is expecting a tighter game when the teams meet on Wednesday.
"I think that for City it will be won in attack. I don't think the scoreline will be that high, as Arteta has done a great job since he has come in. Closing up shop, they have been defending very well, and I haven't seen Arsenal defend as well as they have under Arteta for a while," he told AmericanGambler.com .
"But at the same time, Arteta will want to get one over his old boss. It's tight enough to be an interesting game, because Arteta knows him and Pep knows Arteta, so it's going to be an interesting game of chess."
