The 3 key battles as Manchester City host Arsenal in the Premier League

Raheem Sterling v Nacho Monreal

One of Arsenal’s biggest issues this season has been defending against pace, with both Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi coming unstuck against that exact thing.

And, with Mustafi unavailable due to injury, Monreal will once again come up against a pacey winger in the form of Raheem Sterling this afternoon.

The City star has been in decent form for Guardiola’s side this season, netting five goals and laying on seven assists in all competitions so far, but it has gone a bit dry on the goals front in recent times, with the former Liverpool man not finding the net since September 28 at Celtic.

However, despite an indifferent few games, Sterling was much improved against Watford in midweek and assisted David Silva’s late strike, so goes into this game full of confidence after a decent week.

And, as we have seen before, a confident Sterling is a tough prospect for any Premier League defender, not least one who has struggled against pace this season.

How well Monreal, and Arsenal in general, deal with Sterling down the right could be a huge factor in determining the outcome of today’s encounter.