Cesc Fabregas makes 'too smart' Mikel Arteta admission in Man City vs Arsenal prediction

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Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas is optimistic Arsenal will come away with the three points at the Etihad Stadium when his old club faces Manchester City on Sunday.

This is one of the fixtures many football supporters look for when the football calendar comes out every year. A win for either side will be crucial in their battle for Premier League glory.

Mikel Arteta's side will head to Manchester on the back of a significant 1-0 win in the North London Derby and another could see them leapfrog City at the summit, by one point. Fabregas believes Arsenal will do just that.

"I’m going for 2-1 to Arsenal," the now manager of Italian side Como, said on the Planet Premier League podcast. "There will be goals. I’m pretty sure there will be goals.

"I think you lose this weekend, it doesn’t have a big impact into the mind of the players, you know, going forward into the season, because there is still so many games to play. Now, you lose this game in March, then that’s a big deal. We might see a little difference in terms of approach from the teams.

"It’s always been a very 50-50 game, you know, because they respect each other, they know all their weaknesses, they know their strengths. I think the game plans of both teams are so good that it makes it a very even game, and sometimes with not a lot of chances. But yeah, I’m really looking forward to it."

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Arsenal have enjoyed a strong start to the season, having collected ten points out of a possible 12. They have won three games and drawn once to Brighton, which saw Declan Rice dismissed with a red card.

The English midfielder will be available to face City after serving a one-match ban against Spurs. With Rice back, Fabregas does not expect Arteta to change his team's tactics too much but suggests they can afford to be a 'little bit more direct'

"Listen, it’s difficult for me to say what’s on Mikel’s head," he added. "I don’t know if they will do what they did last year. I don’t know if you guys remember that we were debating here when they just dropped into a low block and they were trying to get them on the counter.

"Sometimes they were not even pressing. They were just waiting for City to come and make a mistake. It nearly worked out, but we debated it here. Is it the right way? Is Arsenal doing the opposite of what they should have done in terms of what they’ve been doing during the whole season?

"Listen, they didn’t manage to win the league and people can say, oh, if they went on to win that game, those two points… But Mikel is too smart for this. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He has a game plan.

"Obviously, he always does and the adaptability is important in terms of can he be aggressive? Can he not? I think against City, he will not go full on to press. That’s only my opinion. Can they be a little bit more direct? Yes, because they do have two really fast forwards plus [Kai] Havertz who is now in a very good moment."

The Gunners did beat City in their home fixture last season but Pep Guardiola got the best out of his compatriot in the FA Cup. City are yet to drop points this season though, winning all four league games.

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