Nick Hext expects Manchester City to beat Arsenal again on Thursday night but the Premier League leaders will have to be patient.
Arsenal v Manchester City recommended bets
2pts Draw/Manchester City HT/FT at 17/4
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Arsenal v Manchester City (1945 GMT, Sky Sports Main Event)
The good news for Arsenal is they have a quick chance to put Sunday's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City behind them.
The bad news is their return to Premier League action sees all-conquering City arrive at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal were outclassed when losing 3-0 to City at Wembley and headlines about manager Arsene Wenger's future have been dominating the media coverage since that loss.
Wenger responded in his pre-match press conference: "I am just amazed that I have to always answer things that are exactly the same.
"My job is to focus on performing and my job is to perform. It's for other people to judge me, it isn't for me to evaluate that."
I don't want to bother Wenger with what questions to expect if Arsenal timidly fall to defeat again but I'm pretty confident it will be more of the same about his future with the Gunners.
Arsenal have lost four of their last six outings, sit 10 points off a top-four finish and only have the Europa League remaining as a realistic chance of a trophy. The pressure is on despite Wenger's words to the contrary.
That means Wenger must have the Gunners primed to deal with City's attacking stars, who weren't at their best despite the convincing victory in the Carabao Cup final.
Pep Guardiola's table-toppers have a clash against Chelsea to think about on Sunday but they have dealt with a congested fixture list all season so don't waste time worrying about a lack of focus.
I like the around 4/1 available across the board for City to get the victory after being held by Arsenal at half-time.
This bet has been a winner in all of Arsenal's previous three Premier League defeats, against Bournemouth, Swansea and Bournemouth since the start of 2018.
Arsenal will have to keep it tight as their first priority on Thursday evening but City are still clearly the better side in this contest and can get the job done.
City were level at the break against Leicester before running riot in the second half in their last Premier League outing, although I expect the Gunners to keep it a little closer than that 5-1 scoreline at the Etihad Stadium.
Prediction: Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City (Sky Bet's odds: 10/1)
Best Bet: Draw/Manchester City HT/FT
Alternative: Second half to contain most goals
Posted at 1845 GMT on 28/02/18.
