Arsenal v Manchester City: Premier League – live! | Football

24 min Martinelli is struggling a little after Kyle Walker accidentally trod on his left hand. Can you run off a hand injury? Probably.

21 min Playing Kevin De Bruyne as a No10 didn’t really work at Anfield, but he has been imperious today. He really is the most brilliant footballer.

20 min “This is becoming an advert for the Arsenal to hire Arteta,” says Bill Hargreaves. “If he’ll have them.”

Arsenal tried to press high up the field and City just passed straight through them. Rodri and Foden were involved at the start, passing their way out of trouble in their own half. Then De Bruyne played a give-and-go with Jesus and ran at Chambers on the left side of the box. He drove a low cross that took a slight deflection, which wrongfooted Kolasinac and allowed the ball to reach Sterling at the far post. He swept it into an open net from six yards.

Another beautiful goal from City!

12 min A quiet period in the game. Arsenal look a threat going forward, particularly when Martinelli has the ball.

8 min More rousing play from Martinelli, who skins Walker and hits a stinging cross-shot that is palmed away by Ederson. It comes to Pepe, whose follow-up shot is blocked by Otamendi. I think it was going wide anyway.

7 min “The deluge has begun,” says Mary Waltz, who predicted a 5-2 City win before the game. “Arsenal has zero ability to have any midfield organization and the back line is a sieve. This will be ugly.”

6 min City’s tactics are interesting. It’s essentially 4-2-3-1, with Foden playing from the left and Sterling from the right

What a brilliant finish! Fernandinho moved forward from the back and slid a good, straight pass to Jesus on the left side of the area. He lost Chambers neatly and cut the ball back speculatively from the byline. It cleared everyone at the near post and reached De Bruyne at the far post, 15 yards from goal. He watched the ball bounce, adjusted his body and sidefooted a blistering shot into the roof of the net. The precision and technique were off the reservation. Almost every other player in world football would have put that over the bar; most would have put it out of the ground.

Manchester City take the lead with a majestic goal!

35 seconds: Ederson makes a fine save from Martinelli! Crikey, that was some start. Martinelli collected a long ball forward, wriggled away from Fernandinho on the edge of the box and hit a left-footed shot that was superbly blocked by the outrushing Ederson.

1 min Peep peep! City, in their black away kit, kick off from right to left. The Arsenal are in red and white.

“Hi Rob,” says Tony McPeterson. “I’m not usually one to stick my neck out for these sort of things, but if this game isn’t a draw then I can see one of these teams taking this.”

You haven’t factored in the apocalypse.

Another email! “I’m very much enjoying the Martinelli & Greenwood tributes to 1993-era Robbie Fowler,” says Niall Mullen. “Prodigious finishers papering over the cracks of massive clubs in a slump.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a footballer embody the thrill of youth quite like Fowler. I had to keep my love for him a secret for at least a decade.

I’m dead excited about seeing Martinelli today. As for Greenwood, I know it’s early, and I don’t want to get carried away, but if he continues to progress then I think he might just save the world.

The 2pm games have finished. Spurs grabbed a late winner at Wolves to jump to fifth in the table, and the extraordinary Mason Greenwood denied Duncan Ferguson another victory as Everton manager.

The first email of the day

“Hi,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Clearly my message to Mesut to avoid Mark Lamarr’s barber went unread.”

In fairness, Bill, I think he has bigger concerns than your assessment of his hair.

Phil Foden starts a Premier League game for the first time this season.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Leno; Maitland-Niles, Chambers, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Guendouzi, Torreira; Pepe, Ozil, Martinelli; Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Martinez, David Luiz, Saka, Willock, Smith Rowe, Lacazette, Nelson.

Manchester City (4-3-3) Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Mendy; Gundogan, Rodri, Foden; De Bruyne, Jesus, Sterling.
Substitutes: Bravo, Zinchenko, Angelino, B Silva, Mahrez, Cancelo, E Garcia.

Referee Paul Tierney.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Arsenal v Manchester City from the Emirates Stadium. We know what to expect from this one: electric attacking, rococo defending and at least one passage of play that will have a profound impact on Graeme Souness’s Christmas cheer.

The 2019-20 season has thus far been a desperate disappointment for both teams. City are 17 points behind Liverpool, Arsenal are 17 points behind Leicester. Pep Guardiola looks like a man in need of a sabbatical, Arsenal are in urgent need of a permanent manager.

The mood is pretty bleak – unless you’re a neutral. Both these teams are highly watchable, even when they’re struggling. With the attackers (and defenders) on both sides, there’s 0.00 per cent chance this will end 0-0.

Kick off is at 4.30pm.