Former Arsenal and Manchester City star Bacary Sagna has had his say on who will win Premier League title with both his old clubs battling it out for the crown. The French full back made 370 competitive senior appearances in England - 284 for Arsenal and 86 for Man City - and he is the latest to weigh in on the title debate with an accurate prediction of how the season will play out.
The Gunners are yet to meet Man City in the league this season after seeing their mid-week clash in October rearranged to accommodate Arsenal's Europa League group match with PSV. That game was due to take place on Thursday, September 15, but was postponed due to limited policing resources ahead of the Queen’s state funeral that month.
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta will now meet on Wednesday, February 15 at Emirates Stadium before the reverse fixture is contested on Wednesday, April 26, five games before the end of the season.
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However, the two title rivals will now meet sooner after they were drawn to face each other in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Etihad Stadium in the final weekend of January. While both managers may rest crucial players, the clash will certainly offer many talking points before their league meeting a few weeks later.
Sagna, who featured at right-back for the Gunners under Arsene Wenger, believes that first league game will be won by Arsenal as long as they play how they did last season. The Gunners went toe-to-toe with City on New Year's Day, but saw Bukayo Saka's first half strike cancelled out by Riyad Mahrez, with Rodri then scoring a late winner after Gabriel Magalhaes had been sent off.
"Arsenal will beat Man City at the Emirates if they play the way they did last season, they only lost in the last minute unexpectedly," Sagna told Midnite. "The coaches know each other and will both have a game plan, it will be a very interesting team tactically.
"I can see Arsenal having possession of the ball and putting pressure on Man City, and Man City don't like pressure."
The five-point gap between the two teams in the table, with Arsenal at the summit, is also enough for Sagna to believe the Gunners will triumph as Premier League winners.
He added: "Arsenal are on their way to winning the Premier League title, with the point gap already and facing Man City at home in their first game against each other.
"Man City won't be easy, they're a top team, they have a stronger mentality than the Arsenal squad. I feel that Arsenal are very strong and any player that comes in will have a big impact on the squad."
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