There’s not just the Champions League to focus on tonight, as there’s also a huge and potentially title-deciding game taking place in the Premier League.
Here are three big questions we’re asking ourselves ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Arsenal.
Are Arsenal running out of steam?
The Gunners are going through their most difficult spell of the season so far, and when you consider that it’s just two games without a win that says it all about the levels they have set.
But Arsenal have looked leggy and devoid of creative ideas going forward in the defeat to Everton and 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The explosive impact of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings has been hindered in those fixtures and if Ivan Toney had finished another one of his many chances better they could’ve been staring two defeats in the face.
Questions are beginning to be asked about their materials for a title challenge but there will be no better way for the league leaders to lay those doubts to rest then by overcoming the champions.
Arsenal went into the season with the top four in their sights and a title charge has developed out of the blue. This is the first real test of whether they can make their dream a reality.
Will Arteta have the inside track on Pep?
There is a slight ‘apprentice taking on the master’ undercurrent about the game which could develop into a fascinating narrative.
Mikel Arteta spent the best part of three years as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City so if anyone knows the Catalan better than the man himself, it’s the Arsenal head coach.
Guardiola has been accused of ‘overthinking’ when it comes to the bigger games in the past, and if there is any fixture that could bring out some ‘Pepness’ this season then it’s this one.
That could result in a work of genius that sees City steamroll Arsenal or lead to a man overcomplicating the simplest of tasks.
There’s not just a battle on the pitch to be won tonight, the one taking place on the touchline will be just as captivating.
Can City lay down a marker?
Man City’s form in 2023 has been patchy to say the least. The champions have lost that impenetrable aura about them caused by losses to Manchester United and Tottenham while even Southampton inflicted damage on them in the EFL Cup.
This is usually the stage of the season where Guardiola’s side embark on the ridiculously long unbeaten run that tends to end with them lifting the title.
Their last defeat in 2021/22 came on February 19 against Spurs (of course it did) before they went 12 successive games without defeat to win the league.
Will muscle memory lead City down a familiar path again?
They certainly more at it in the win over Aston Villa on Sunday, blowing Unai Emery’s men away with three goals in an astonishing first half performance.
Tonight is the true test over whether City are back at it. The Emirates awaits.
