Manchester City vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger won't park the bus and is ready to fight fire with fire

There is no clear way of stopping City and Wenger acknowledges the Gunners cannot rely on their defence alone

Arsene Wenger has no intention of parking the bus against Manchester City (Arsenal FC)

Arsene Wenger has promised that Arsenal will “accept the risk” of fighting fire with fire and attacking Manchester City when they go to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Arsenal will come up against the world’s in-form team, who have scored 49 goals in 16 games so far this season – 35 in 10 league games – setting them up to break all the records this year.

City have only failed to win one game all season, a 1-1 draw with Everton on 21 August, in which they were reduced to 10 men in the first half.

There is no clear way of stopping City, then, but Wenger said late on Thursday night that he would not be parking the bus when he goes to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon. Wenger’s Arsenal successfully disrupted City in the FA Cup semi-final in April with counter-attacking football, and he said that his side would have to carry an attacking threat on Sunday. They cannot hope to rely on their defence alone.

“We will of course try to play our game, we will not hide,” Wenger said when asked of his plans.

Arsenal have had success in the past at the Etihad Stadium through solid defence and while that will be part of the plan this weekend – how could it not be – it will not be the plan’s full extent. “When we go there, we want to defend well,” Wenger said. “But you cannot go there only focused on defending, we want as well to play with the ball and create dangerous situations. Sometimes the best way to defend is to attack.”

OF course there is a risk associated with attacking City, given the technical ability in midfield and their firepower up front. But there are plenty of ways to lose a game to City so Arsenal may as well go for it.


 City head into the game in supreme form 
 (Getty)

“When you want to play football, you have to accept risk,” Wenger said. “If you want to play football when you walk on the pitch, you have to accept the gamble and the risk as part of the game. After that, you have to rate the risk, whether it is a bigger risk to defend or attack. If a team is only there to attack, it is a bigger risk to defend.”

As ever with Wenger, what it really comes down to is playing well. “You can win a game with any style,” he said. “That is what makes football interesting. As long as you are strong in what you do.”