Arsenal travel to the Etihad Stadium where they will battle Manchester City in a must-win affair. The Gunners currently occupy the fourth position in the Premier League table with 47 points, same points with Chelsea but they have a superior goal difference.
They can’t afford to drop any point against the Citizens on Sunday if they must remain in contention for a top-four finish.
Considering the importance of Sunday’s game, Unai Emery has no option but to give Mesut Ozil a starting role at Etihad stadium.
The playmaker lost his place in the starting XI to Alex Iwobi at the early stages of the season, while, his relationship with the manager is reportedly far from cordial.
After 23 rounds of matches played so far, the German playmaker started just 13 and has came off the bench in one occasion. Therefore, he has featured in just 14 Premier League games since the start of the season.
Unai Emery must swallow his pride and name the 30-year-old in his starting lineup so as to open up City’s defence with his dribbling skills.
Scoring against Manchester City — who have conceded just 19 goals this term — won’t be an easy task for the Gunners, hence, Ozil’s defence-splitting passes will be highly needed by the North London outfits.
Having said that, Ozil must equally improve his work rate against the Cityzens throughout the encounter. He must be willing to help his teammates at the back of the pitch if they must emerge victorious against the free-scoring Guardiola’s side.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Spain midfielder Denis Suarez who joined the Gunners from Barcelona on loan during the winter transfer market.
The midfielder wasn’t used regularly by Enersto Valverde in the first half of the campaign. The Argentine manager eventually released him to Unai Emery for the rest of the season.
Arsenal fans can’t wait to see what he brings to the team to know if he’s the best player to replace Aaron Ramsey who will depart Emirates stadium for Juventus in the summer.