Theo Walcott delivers concerning prediction before 'indifferent' Arsenal face Man City
Arsenal and Man City may have produced one of the season's best games in September but Theo Walcott thinks goals will be at a premium when Mikel Arteta hosts Pep Guardiola
Their most recent meeting may have been a controversy-packed 2-2 draw but former Arsenal star Theo Walcott reckons Sunday’s clash with Manchester City could prove a quiet affair.
Mikel Arteta ’s Gunners might be nine points behind leaders Liverpool by kick off (Arne Slot's side visit Bournemouth on Saturday), meaning little room left for error. And while the table may suggest they need to take the game to champions, Walcott is expecting a cagey encounter.
“I feel like, at times, these teams can cancel each out in big games,” he said. “It’s going to be tight, not a high scoring game at all. Arsenal have been a bit indifferent but they are still in the title race for me.
“There’s always gonna be that thought process about strikers. But look at where they are at without a striker. They're doing okay, put it that way.”
A win for City would move them to within three points of Arsenal and Walcott reckons they are now fully out of crisis mode.
There is, however, a risk that Wednesday’s efforts to progress from the Champions League may have taken a toll on Pep Guardiola ’s squad - especially when already-qualified Arsenal were able to make wholesale changes.
Speaking at a Premier League More Than A Game school visit, Walcott added: “Man City are starting to be the City that we know.
“Players are coming back fit, the confidence is flowing through again but they might have been distracted a little bit with the Champions League.”
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