Right, then. Here we go! Massive fixture on Sunday - and finally, perhaps, the footballing gods have smiled on Arsenal. Only perhaps, of course, because we have massive concerns over the fitness of our Starboy. But there's a good chance that Rodri's idiotic behaviour against Nottingham Forest a couple of weeks ago, leading to his sending off, may just help to tip the scales in Arsenal's favour in the forthcoming heavyweight battle of the two best teams in England.
Time and time again over the past few years, Arsenal have gone into this fixture depleted. The number of times that Thomas Partey has missed out has been painful, frankly. But this time round not only may Partey be back from his latest injury setback, but Arsenal have Declan Rice. Rice, you will recall, turned down the chance to join Manchester City in the summer because he was so sold on Mikel Arteta's vision for Arsenal. Turning down Manchester City is a brave thing to do, and now it's time, hopefully, for Rice to show Pep why he did it.
It's been 8 and a half long years now since a change in outlook from Arsene Wenger, and an iconic performance from Santi Cazorla (it was January 2015!) saw Arsenal defeat Manchester City 2-0 at The Etihad; the last time Arsenal took three points off of them in a league fixture. We've had a few victories against them since then - I remember Nacho Monreal's late FA Cup semi-final winner, and the Community Shield victory in August remains fresh in the memory. But this is 'big time'. Arsenal lost twice to City last season, and finished just 5 points behind them. Do the maths...
Of course, neither side will be at full strength. Arsenal remain in the midst of something of an injury crisis. We lost Jurrien Timber on Matchday One. Gabriel Martinelli's hamstring is unlikely to have recovered from its recent pull. Rice, Trossard and Saka were doubts last weekend. There have been slight questions over Saliba and Jesus recently. Sunday may yet be too soon for Partey. And there was the sorry sight of Saka limping off the field on Tuesday in France.
In his press conference just a few moments ago (as I type) Arteta responded to the inevitable question about Saka with: 'He is in contention. Let's see how he progresses from here to Sunday. Let's see how he recovers.' And, on the face of it, that doesn't sound hopeful.
But you have to take what Arteta says about injuries in press conferences with a massive pinch of salt. It's like a game to him. He reassured us three weeks ago that Martinelli may be fit for a quick return, and last week was all doom and gloom about Saka, Rice, Saliba and Trossard; yet three of them started on Saturday, and the other made the bench. It's going to be a matter of guesswork until 3.30pm on Sunday, and we just have to hope for the best.
Saka, of course, is crucial to how Arsenal play and perform. We saw on Tuesday how his loss, alongside that of Martinelli, made a difference to the threat Arsenal posed and how easy it was for Lens - hardly the most powerful of opposition - to play their own game against Arsenal; exhibiting little or no fear as they felt that Arsenal were unlikely to hurt them. There are so many reasons why Arsenal looked so toothless on Tuesday; the loss of Saka's brilliance and unpredictability, Martinelli's directness and - if I may be so bold - Partey's ability to take on and beat an extra man in midfield all contributed to nullify what Arsenal were trying to do. Without those players, and with the likes of Havertz and Vieira unable to impose themselves sufficiently, Arsenal were found wanting. Bad timing, for sure, bearing in mind City's successive domestic defeats but then sublime controlling performance in Leipzig on Wednesday.
How might Arteta set up on Sunday? Well, the first big question is does David Raya keep his place after a decidedly dodgy performance in midweek. I am not alone in remaining unconvinced. I know what he brings with the ball at his feet - and Arteta's been looking for that as a differential. But the first job of a goalkeeper is to keep shots out (just ask Manchester United supporters!) and for all that his save from Brennan Johnson in the NLD was spectacular, I can't see any real improvement on Ramsdale there.
I expect to see the normal settled back 4 of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko. And I also expect the later named to be asked to rein himself in a little, bearing in mind that he'll be up against a much higher quality of winger than normal.
In midfield comes an interesting decision. If Partey is deemed fit, I'd have him back in, move Rice to left 8 and demote Havertz to the bench. Up front, I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised to see Eddie back in, and Jesus on one wing or the other (depending on Saka's availability). Of course, there remains the Community Shield template of Havertz up top too. But it's all guess work. And there's nowt wrong with that. If we're guessing, then so is the opposing Manager.
As for Guardiola himself; well, he has his own problems. No De Bruyne all season - hasn't stopped them from sitting top of the table - but add to that no Rodri. And that's key. Massive, in fact.
They missed him last week at Wolves, as the opposition broke on them with pace time and time again, with nobody with his qualities - not least the ability to get away with numerous fouls yet escape a yellow card - around to break up the play or intervene. It's clear that Kovacic is not that type of player, whilst Kalvin Phillips IS that kind of player, but is probably too much of a drop in quality. So what will Pep do to counteract the threats of Rice, Odegaard etc? If he chooses to play both Kovacic AND Phillips, then that surely means that he has to leave Alvarez out of the side. Which would be a massive miss, as he's been contributing massively all season; Wednesday's goal in Leipzig was a work of art, as was the equaliser on Saturday at Molineux.
Of course, he does have Erling Haaland at his disposal. But the Norwegian cannot be relishing coming up against Gabriel and - particularly - William Saliba. If any centre half is going to have a chance of having his measure, then the 22-year-old (!) Frenchman is that man. A real heavyweight battle in the offing, and a battle that I, for one, am relishing watching.
One thing is for sure; this is going to be fascinating. And just for once I'm hoping that we're not going to see another excellent but ultimately unfortunate performance from Arsenal. We've come close to taking one - if not three - points off of them the last two seasons in this fixture (who can forget some of the appalling officiating that's cost Arsenal points over those two games?).
I'm not confident. How can anyone be. I'm no more than hopeful. But for me the loss of Rodri is likely to be more critical then even the potential loss of Bukayo Saka. If any time is going to be Arsenal's time, then surely Sunday is it.
Either way, this is likely to be one of the most exciting and pivotal games of the season. And with our noisy neighbours from down the road likely to be sitting on top of the table by the time this one kicks off, we need to do something to wipe the smug, annoying grins off of their ugly mugs. So COYG! Waka Waka!
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