Paul Robinson reveals ‘huge advantage’ Arsenal already have over Man City
Arsenal are set to gain a “huge advantage” ahead of their clash against Manchester City at the weekend.
Arsenal’s victory over Nottingham Forest saw Mikel Arteta’s side continue their positive start to the Premier League season.
Martin Odegaard suffered a shoulder injury against Nottingham Forest, and the Norwegian was left out of Arteta’s side in the Champions League against Athletic Club.
Noni Madueke was impressive in Arsenal’s win, and he was a bright spark again for Arteta’s side again at the San Mames.
Arsenal gain ‘huge’ advantage over Manchester City
Arsenal are due to play Man City in the Premier League on Sunday, in a clash that may have title race consequences later in the season.
Speaking on BBC 5 Live‘s coverage of the match, Robinson commented on the difference between Arsenal and Man City’s Champions League schedules.
Robinson said: “It’s a huge advantage, isn’t it? Tuesday to Thursday is a big difference in recovery time.
“With the game being an early kick off this evening, the Arsenal players will jump on a plane and be back in London by 12/1 o’clock tonight.
“So maybe a morning off tomorrow to recover, then a long time to prepare, more than Manchester City get ahead of the game on Sunday.”
Arsenal get key recovery advantage over Manchester City
Arsenal’s game against Athletic Club kicked off on Tuesday, 16 September at 5:45 pm British Summer Time, with Man City having to wait until Thursday, 18 September at 8:00 pm to kick off their tie against Napoli.
Manchester City will play at home, meaning there won’t be any long-haul travel involved in their fixture, but it would leave them with only two days on the training pitch to prepare for Sunday’s fixture.
| Athletic Club v Arsenal 5:45 BST, 16 September |
| Manchester City v Napoli 8:00 BST, 18 September |
| Arsenal v Manchester City 4:30 BST, 21 September |
Arteta will hope the lengthened break will boost his side’s recovery, with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba looking more and more likely to feature in the match.
With Arsenal already dropping points to title rivals Liverpool this season, a loss to Man City would be hugely damaging to Arteta’s title hopes.
With an increased recovery time and two extra days on the training pitch, Arsenal will hope that their Champions League schedule offers them a marginal gain in their huge title clash.