For Mikel Arteta, a reunion had carried the promise of revenge. He reached arguably his lowest ebb as Arsenal manager against the club where he began his coaching career. August’s 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City left Arsenal goalless, pointless and bottom of the table.
That Arsenal enter 2022 in fourth is a sign of an impressive revival. Arsenal’s record has gone from the wretched to the admirable, with one notable exception: they are yet to procure a point against the Premier League’s representatives in the Champions League and have conceded 14 goals in four games. A meeting with his mentor Pep Guardiola seemed a chance to remedy that.
And then, for the second time, Arteta tested positive for coronavirus. There was an unfortunate sense of symmetry: he first contracted Covid in March 2020, when City were due to play Arsenal. This time, at least, Arteta’s absence should not prevent the game from going ahead. There will be a different look to their dugout with Albert Stuivenberg, formerly assistant to Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, in charge. Per Mertesacker, now Arsenal’s academy manager, could also be involved.
Presumably the deposed captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s exile will continue, but the ranks of the missing have swelled. Covid initially struck Arsenal’s right-backs, with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares sidelined, before spreading to the coaching staff.
It has nonetheless been a successful spell for them. While City have reeled off 10 straight Premier League victories, Arteta’s team have five victories in a row in all competitions, scoring 19 and conceding just one. The narrowest of those triumphs may be the most significant: West Ham were defeated 2-0 and, along with the autumn wins over Tottenham and Leicester, it ranks as Arsenal’s finest result of the season.
But Arteta’s golden summer of 2020 came from an ability to beat the best, and not merely the best of the rest. His start to 2022 will indicate if he has recaptured it. Arsenal’s January features City, a Carabao Cup double header with Liverpool and a derby with Antonio Conte’s Spurs.
Brentford vs Manchester City player ratings
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BRENTFORD RATINGS: Alvaro Fernandez – 7, Pushed wide a long-range shot by Ruben Dias just before the break, and probably would have expected to have had a busier first half than the one he had. Largely untroubled, but couldn’t keep out a simple tap-in by Foden. Getty Images -
Ethan Pinnock – 7, Unfazed by the task as he dominated in the air and with his feet, finding the right tackles and clearances to keep Brentford in with a chance. Getty Images -
Pontus Jansson – 6, Cleared an early low cross by Grealish but later missed Foden’s run into the box, which left the City man free to tap in De Bruyne’s cross. Getty Images -
Mads Bech Sorensen – 6, The Denmark U21 international has only come into the frame in recent games following the depletion of the squad but he faired well; clearing the ball up the pitch, protecting the ball, and his side. Reuters -
Mads Roerslev Rasmussen – 6, The 22-year-old returned in place of Canos, who dropped to the bench, but had a tough night dealing with the busy Foden. Getty Images -
Shandon Baptiste – 6, Couldn’t quite make anything of a 25-yard volley in the opening minutes but had one of the loudest roars of the night from the crowd when he dispossessed City and sprung forward with the ball and force Ake to block. Getty Images -
Mathias Jensen – 6, The Dane had a crack from the half-way line after spotting Ederson out of position but couldn’t find any sense of direction on his long shot. He later wasted a well positioned set piece. Getty Images -
Frank Onyeka – 7, In for the suspended Christian Norgaard, he played a neat one-two before attempting to curl a low shot past Ederson in the opening stages of the game. Continued to be a lively influence and great outlet for the Bees. Getty Images -
Dominic Thompson – 7, The 21-year-old played his first Premier League minutes against Brighton and continued in place of Rico Henry against City. He was kept busy by Jesus but looked up to the task, putting in a tackle before the break and cutting out a set piece into the box as City tried to dominate. Getty Images -
Yoane Wissa – 6, Came in for the injured Bryan Mbeumo and forced Ederson into an awkward save with an effort that took a deflection from Ruben Dias. He came close to assisting Toney seconds after. Getty Images -
Ivan Toney – 6, Brentford’s star man didn’t see much of the ball in the first half and couldn’t head a threatening cross by Wissa into an open goal, but he proved a handful with his hold-up play. Reuters -
SUB: Sergi Canos (Wissa 69’) – 6, Benched after some underwhelming performances of late but on as Thomas Frank sensed a way back into the game. He sprinted onto a great ball, though Ake was able to deal with the threat. Getty Images -
SUB: Mads Bidstrup (Onyeka 75’) – N/R, The 20-year-old midfielder experienced his first bit of Premier League action since a short cameo against West Ham United. Reuters -
SUB: Saman Ghoddos (for Thompson 82’) – N/R, Came on for the limping Thompson, but made little impact. Reuters -
MAN CITY RATINGS: Ederson – 7, Had an awkward spell in the opening stages as Brentford started to see more of the goal. He was forced into a comfortable low save from Onyeka before having to awkwardly clear Wissa’s deflected shot. Largely untroubled. Reuters -
Joao Cancelo – 6, Praised for his attacking performances, the full-back provided a goal-line clearance to nod away a difficult corner. Uncharacteristically saw a sideways pass intercepted by Baptiste, who sprung onto an attack of his own, but City’s defenders bailed him out. Reuters -
Ruben Dias – 6, Didn’t handle early pressure well, which saw the Bees enjoy the first shot on target, and he could have easily have netted an own goal after an awkward deflection. The centre-back did see a low strike from the outside of the box pushed wide by Fernandez. A much sturdier display in the second half. Reuters -
Aymeric Laporte – 6, Less shaky than his centre-back partner but the Spanish international did completely miss a set piece into City's box. Headed past Fernandez in the closing stages but was denied by VAR, who disallowed the goal for offside. Reuters -
Nathan Ake – 7, His inclusion may have raised eyebrows but he distracted Toney enough to miss an open header before providing a pivotal block to stop a shot from Baptiste. Did very well to cover a ball that sprung Canos into action. Getty Images -
Kevin De Bruyne – 8, Provided a beauty of a cross for Foden to tap in and nearly got a second assist to the same player, only for Foden to head wide. Forced Fernandez into a save with a curling effort just after the break before hitting the woodwork with a low bouncing strike, and then firing over the bar. PA -
Fernandinho – 7, The 36-year-old started his second game in three days with Rodri sidelined, but he controlled things well in the midfield and enjoyed a good tustle with Toney. PA -
Bernardo Silva – 6, Didn’t control the game in the way you’d probably expect him to and found it hard to get involved. Getty Images -
Gabriel Jesus – 7, Great movement in the build-up to the goal, coming from deep to move the ball forward before laying it off to De Bruyne, who delivered it on a plate for Foden to tap in. Showed some great skill to fashion a chance at goal, but Fernandez was equal to it. Reuters -
Phil Foden – 8, The creative midfielder had a tendency to drop deep in the early stages but he beat the offside trap to tap home from close range a delightful cross by De Bruyne. He could have got his second of the night connecting with De Bruyne again, but he headed wide of Fernandez’s far post. Headed home afterwards, only to be shown the offside flag. Getty Images -
Jack Grealish – 6, Benched for the last two fixtures, the £100m man quickly switched wings with Jesus to be able to link with Foden on the left, but he was largely ineffective. PA
The encouragement comes from Arsenal’s capacity to win the more winnable games, from the way that potential is being converted into performance. Rather than rushing a fit-again Emile Smith Rowe back into the team, Arteta has been able to use him as an impact replacement. And he has been potent in cameos, becoming just the third Arsenal player to score in three successive substitute appearances in the Premier League.
Arsenal appear to have copied City’s model, with goals and assists coming from a raft of attacking midfielders and wingers. Martin Odegaard has three assists in his last two league games, Bukayo Saka three goals in his last two. Some 21 of Arsenal’s last 23 league goals have come from players aged 24 or under. The youngsters have kept on delivering.
And yet Arsenal’s record against City is awful. While Arteta masterminded, and Aubameyang delivered, an FA Cup win in July 2020, Guardiola has only ever dropped two points against Arsenal. He has nine straight league wins against them and the last five have come with clean sheets. In August, City’s 5-0 rout was still easier than the scoreline suggests: they did not bother adding to their lead in the final 37 minutes, even though Arsenal were down to 10 men.
The gulf between the teams had rarely looked bigger. But since August, only City have taken more points than Arsenal. While December began with defeats to Manchester United and Everton that showcased a self-destructive streak, their response has been terrific. But as Arteta watches on from afar, City will provide the ultimate test again on Saturday.
