Xavi Hernandez and Pep Guardiola give Mikel Arteta the 18-man plan and the green light to help Arsenal close the gap

The Gunners could not recover from the losses of William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Rob Holding’s assistant role was put to good use in the team’s poor run.

However, the group beyond Holding have been disappointing and it would be unfair to blame the experienced centre-back. Mikel Arteta has barely turned his back in their four-game losing streak, making it very easy to predict who might start.

Mikel Arteta believes in changing the game. Arteta said: “The answer is no because I don’t know their line-up!

“Once we have the line-up we’ll have a rough idea, but it depends on who they’re playing against. They can do something different, just like us.

However, the evidence is against the Spaniard and the majority have guessed which team will start at the Etihad. Meanwhile, Arteta was right about Man City, surprising many with Manuel Akanji starting at left-back instead of the injured Nathan Ake.

If you look at the Man City squad, it’s not quite the 25 man squad the Premier League allows, it’s more a squad of around 18 players who are all at a level where they could start for Pep Guardiola’s side without the level of quality goes down a lot or not at all.

Manchester City’s 18-man squad: Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. Rico Lewis, 18, has played in several Premier League games and effectively replaced 18th member Joao Cancelo, who went on loan in January.

City have several other younger players such as Cole Palmer, Sergio Gomez and Maximo Perrone who are often on the bench. Reserve goalkeeper Stefan Ortega has also proved to be an asset in cup competitions.

In the meantime, check out Arsenal’s best XI, who sadly have only started seven times this season and the team have won all seven, and the depth difference is staggering. The team composed by: Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli was at the basis of the title

But beyond the XI, Arsenal only had Leandro Trossard and Kieran Tierney as competitive options to push the starting pack. Emile Smith Rowe missed most of the season following surgery, but even then the Gunners are five high-quality players behind their title rivals.

This creates two problems when it comes to injuries and also when changing teams. Some players like Takehiro Tomiyasu and Eddie Nketiah can be useful to cover absences and have proven to do so.

But to challenge this Man City side for the title will need to add around five players in the summer transfer window to match the competition. One striker, two central midfielders and two defenders.

Sporting director Edu Gaspar is the man in charge of this and not only that but also overseeing the improvement of the club’s sales sector. It will be a huge period that could determine the long-term future of the team and whether this season has been a one-off or the start of Arsenal’s return to establish themselves at the top.

Do you feel this analysis could help Arsenal or not? Leave your comments…