Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic and Julian Alvarez come back into the side that beat RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek.
City are without the suspended Rodrigo, following his red card against Nottingham Forest, while Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish move to the bench.
John Stones is also on the bench for the game at the Emirates Stadium which kicks off at 16:30 (UK).
TEAMS
ARSENAL XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard, Trossard, Jesus, Nketiah
Subs: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Partey, Smith Rowe, Vieira, Martinelli, Nelson, Havertz
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker (C), Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Lewis, Bernardo, Foden, Alvarez, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Gomez, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb
TACTICS
Guardiola has plenty of options to move his players around with so much flexibility in his starters but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start with a similar set-up to the one we played in Germany.
A back-four of Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Ake gives alternatives at left-back and the potential to move an extra player into midfield.
It is also an interchangeable midfield with Kovacic and Rico Lewis potentially screening the defence, although Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva could even take up those roles or start as wingers.
Erling Haaland will certainly be the attacking spearhead with Alvarez hugely effective when getting close to the Norwegian.
Rico reigns
The City boss was thrilled with the performance of Lewis at RB Leipzig and has given the 18-year-old the seal of approval by starting him at the Emirates.
Rodrigo will be a loss after establishing himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.
But Guardiola has huge belief in Lewis and played a major role as a right-back in our Treble-winning season.
In the midweek Champions League victory, he was hugely influential in the centre of midfielder, dovetailing superbly with Bernardo outside, Walker behind and Rodrigo alongside.
His courage and decisiveness means he will have no fear in a game between the best two sides in the Premier League last season.
CROWN JULES
Alvarez has been in brilliant early season form and is back in the starting line-up to face the Gunners.
He already has 11 goal involvements in 12 appearances this season, with six strikes in all competitions.
The Argentinian was a late sub in Germany and scored a brilliant long-range strike before setting up the third for Jeremy Doku.
With Kevin De Bruyne missing through injury, Alvarez has also stepped up as a creator as well as a dead-ball specialist, scoring a stunning free-kick at Wolves last weekend.
MATCH STATS
City have won our last 12 Premier League meetings and a victory for Guardiola‘s side would equal the longest winning run one team has had against another in the competition’s history.
Though he has beaten City in an FA Cup semi-final in 2020, and earned a penalty shootout victory in this year’s Community Shield, the Blues are the only side Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has faced in the Premier League as manager without ever winning.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games, with no side currently on a longer such run going into the weekend’s games. However, they’ve kept just four clean sheets in their last 28 home league games).
We have not lost consecutive league games in almost five years, last doing so in December 2018 against Crystal Palace and Leicester.
Bukayo Saka has been involved in seven goals in his last eight Premier League games for Arsenal, scoring five. He has also scored in each of his last two home games against City.
Erling Haaland, who was involved in four of our seven league goals against Arsenal last season, has scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances in London.
