Manchester City face their first real test of the new Premier League season in a blockbuster showdown with Arsenal this weekend.

The two clubs have gone toe-to-toe over the past two seasons in the title race, but Pep Guardiola has had the edge over his former assistant, Mikel Arteta, on both occasions.

Arsenal stifled Man City during their last trip to the Etihad – a 0-0 draw in MarchGetty

City remain the team to beat again this term with an unrivalled four wins from four sitting them top of the Premier League.

Arsenal are just two points adrift and could leapfrog the champions with a victory – but their last triumph at the Etihad was in 2015.

To put that into context, Arteta was still a player for the Gunners, but the Spaniard did manage to go unbeaten against City last season.

Arsenal matched the Cityzen’s result in their Champions League opener this week, with goalless draws against Atalanta and Inter Milan respectively.

Man City vs Arsenal: Date and how to follow

This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, September 22.

Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is scheduled for 4:30pm.

The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

talkSPORT will have the goals as they go in on the Sunday Session with Sam Matterface, while talkSPORT.com will also keep you updated with our dedicated Premier League live blog HERE.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

De Bruyne has played Arsenal 15 times in the Premier League

Bukayo Saka has been involved in five of Arsenal’s six Premier League goals so far this season (1 goal, 4 assists), assisting a goal in all four games so far. In Premier League history, only Thierry Henry (2004-05) has provided an assist in each of a team’s first five matches in a season.

Man City’s Erling Haaland has scored eight goals in his last three Premier League games, netting hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham, and a brace against Brentford. In Premier League history, only Luis Suárez has scored multiple goals in four consecutive appearances (hat-trick and three braces in December 2013).

Man City striker Erling Haaland has scored nine goals in four Premier League games this season. The fewest appearances any player has taken to reach double figures in a single campaign is six, by Mick Quinn in 1992-93 and Haaland himself in 2022-23.

Manchester City have won each of their last 13 Premier League games – in the competition’s history, there have only been six cases of a team winning 14+ in a row, with the Citizens (and manager Pep Guardiola) responsible for half of those (18 in 2017, 15 in 2019 and 15 in 2021).

Man City vs Arsenal: Team news

The hosts are sweating on the fitness of talisman Kevin De Bruyne, who suffered a groin injury against Inter Milan on Wednesday.

The Belgian was brought off at half-time, with Guardiola remaining coy over his fitness, with Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb both out.

Erling Haaland has one final game to match Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning record for the least games taken to score 100 goals – with Sunday set to be his 105th appearance.

Arsenal meanwhile will be without captain Martin Odegaard, who is set for an extended period on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

The Norwegian joins Kieran Tierney, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the treatment room.

Declan Rice is available again after suspension, with Raheem Sterling pushing to make his first Arsenal start against his former side.

Sterling was brought on in the 72nd minute in BergamoAFP

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League home games against Arsenal (W7 D2) since a 2-0 defeat in January 2015.

Arsenal earned four points against Manchester City in the Premier League last season, double the amount they had from their previous 15 such meetings with the Citizens (W0 D2 L13).

Arsenal kept a clean sheet in both Premier League meetings with Man City last season, having conceded at least once in their last 16 against the Citizens beforehand (40 goals in total).

Arsenal have won 99 of their 211 meetings with Manchester City in all competitions (D47 L65). They’ve only reached triple figures for victories against Everton (111), while it’s the most defeats the Citizens have suffered against an opponent in their history.

Man City vs Arsenal: What has been said?

Emmanuel Petit says his former club Arsenal must go in with a mindset to win when they play City on Sunday.

When asked on talkSPORT how Arsenal should play at the Etihad Stadium, he said: “I don’t want to see the same game I’ve seen last season at the Etihad where they were defending… it was amazing. Just like they did against Spurs yesterday, they defended very well.

“They didn’t give any inches on the pitch. They didn’t give any occasion to Manchester City to score a goal.

“But with Erling Haaland, he’s on the top of the [world].

“So if you want to go over there and you want to bring something, you need to get something different to what happened last season.

“I mean, we will see who is going to be injured. I think [Martin] Odegaard is still injured. But I think you need to go over there with a prepared mentality to win.”