Manchester City and Arsenal’s thrilling draw last weekend has undoubtedly created more headlines than any other match so far this season. Leandro Trossard’s red card set the scene for a fiercely competitive and hot-tempered match, which culminated in John Stones’ late equaliser after a valiant rearguard effort from The Gunners.
One turning point in the match occurred shortly after Erling Haaland’s opener, with City’s linchpin midfielder Rodri going to ground with a serious looking knee injury. Reports suggest that he has ruptured his ACL and will miss a significant part of the season – a serious blow to Pep Guardiola’s hopes of securing a fifth consecutive EPL trophy.
Arsenal haven’t enjoyed much luck either when it comes to injuries – captain Martin Odegaard is likely out until November with an ankle injury, leaving them void of creative influence in the centre of the pitch. Just how will Arsenal and Manchester City survive without these two key figures?
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Is Rodri irreplaceable?
Spaniard Rodri has established himself as the world’s premium midfield player over the last few seasons, winning the treble for Manchester City just over a year ago and being named as the best player at EURO 2024 as Spain came away victorious.
It will be very difficult for City to replace Rodri man-for-man, so it seems likely that Pep Guardiola will tweak his system to make up for his absence. Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis and John Stones are all adept options when it comes to providing defensive stability in midfield, without sacrificing too much ability on the ball.
Kevin De Bruyne was injured for Arsenal’s visit to the Etihad and also possesses the technical ability to accelerate City’s build-up phase if deployed in a deeper position, but Guardiola will have to make compromises as he looks to make plans without the all-round ability that Rodri has.
Odegaard – Arsenal’s chief creator
Martin Odegaard’s unfortunate injury on the international break may not have been as serious as Rodri’s season-ender, but Arsenal’s reliance on the Norwegian in a creative aspect is not to be underestimated. Arsenal’s decision to let fellow attacking midfielders Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith-Rowe leave on loan and permanently over the summer leaves them light in midfield, with new signing Mikel Merino not yet fit.
So far Mikel Arteta has opted for a more pragmatic approach so far, fielding a defensive midfield unit of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey in order to prioritise stability over creativity. Arsenal’s set piece dominance means that they will always create opportunities from dead balls, but Odegaard’s absence means that Bukayo Saka often finds himself surrounded by defenders on the right wing.
Saka’s versatility could be a solution for Arteta here – he is Arsenal’s most creative player in Odegaard’s absence and now could be deployed in midfield, with new signing Raheem Sterling taking up his space on the right wing. Saka impressed in a deeper midfield position when he first burst into The Gunners’ first team and could be an interesting option here for Arteta
The wild-card option here is Ethan Nwaneri – the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League at 15-years-old two years ago, Nwaneri has shown that he has all the ability to potentially break into the Arsenal team this season. However, Arteta will be hesitant to throw him in to high-pressure matches in midfield at such a young age.
