Manchester City are lacking options in the left-back department ahead of their clash with Arsenal, opening the door to a fresh array of attacking avenues for Nicolas Pepe and Mikel Arteta.
The Etihad is home to the Premier League's most expensive squad, but, despite this, Pep Guardiola is still yet to unearth the final piece of his puzzle handing his former assistant a major boost despite the north London side's uninspiring form.
Arteta spent three years at City working alongside Guardiola which saw the pair delve into a fourth dimension of modern football by steering the club through a period of unprecedented success.
However, amongst the silverware and open-top bus parades, Manchester City's success over the years has merely plastered paper over the cracks with regard to the club's inability to weld a leading left back into the side.
The resurgence of Nicolas Pepe can give Arteta great confidence knowing that the Ivorian international will be able to make inroads and breach the right-sided channels, offering a glimmer of hope heading into the tie following a disappointing start to the season.
The 26-year-old, who arrived at the Emirates from Lille for £72 million in 2019, will face either Oleksandr Zinchenko or Joao Cancelo - the former a make-shift left-back who was initially an attacking midfielder, and the latter who is by trade a right-back that can play on either flank.
Couple City's often unstable left-back situation with the revival of Pepe's form and history against Guardiola, Arteta can rewrite Arsenal's fate this season with a ground-breaking result.
Pepe has an eye for goal, ending last season as Arsenal's second-highest goal scorer (16) and second-most productive creator averaging 0.64 goals and assists per 90 minutes across all competitions, highlighting the qualities in which the Gunners have only recently seen.
Pepe's pace will undoubtedly be a decisive factor in Arteta's blueprints to destabilise City, however, his incredible technical ability which creates chances for himself and others will be paramount to Arsenal's success.
When he looks to cut inside off the right-wing onto his favoured left-foot, Pepe will then be able to deliver a lofted ball into the box, drive at the defence, shoot from range or tee up the overlapping right-back for a cross.
Equally, Pepe can use his pace to take the ball towards the byline to cut back; he is a creative technician who can conjure glimpses of magic from deep or on the front foot and his unpredictability will pose Guardiola a serious threat.
Arteta will also look for Pepe to open up avenues of opportunities through the winger's intelligent movement in transitions, with Arsenal likely to concede large quantities of possession whilst looking to take advantage on the counter.
Looking recently into his notable performance versus West Bromwich Albion in the week, Pepe has demonstrated to Arteta the potent threat he can cause using his pace to glide diagonally through the half-spaces and in-behind.
Despite Pepe yet to entirely warrant his eye-watering price tag in an Arsenal shirt, he has certainly shown glimpses.
A strong performance under the tactical instruction of Arteta against the league champions could prove to be the catalyst to unlocking the Premier League's next leading winger.
