1. WILLIAM SALIBA VS ERLING HAALAND
Saliba was considered Arsenal’s best defender last season. The French player was a solid fulcrum to help the Gunners lead the Premier League table for almost the whole season. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury at the end of the season, so Arsenal lost the championship.
Meanwhile, Haaland was the Premier League’s top scorer last season with 36 goals in 38 games. He is also the top scorer of the Champions League with 12 goals in 11 matches. The Norwegian striker broke a series of records in his first season with Man City and helped the team win a historic treble. It is very difficult to stop Haaland at this point and Saliba’s task is extremely heavy.
2. BEN WHITE VS JACK GREALISH
Ben White has been quite impressive last season as a right-back, which is not his forte.
His task is to lock the detonator Jack Grealish on the Man City side. Of course, it is not easy to block Grealish at this time when the 27-year-old star is playing very sublimely and has integrated into the play of the Blue Man since last season.
3. DECLAN RICE VS BERNARDO SILVA
Rice is the most expensive rookie in Arsenal’s history and also the most expensive English player. However, he has not proved much since joining the Gunners. The former West Ham captain will need to work harder in the first big battle under the new shirt.
Against Rice will be Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese star seems to have decided to stay at Man City and will be the most important trigger in midfield in the context that Kevin de Bruyne is not fully fit after recovering from injury.
4. MARTIN ODEGAARD VS RODRI
Odegaard is the captain who led Arsenal to the 2022/23 season “makeover”. He also had a breakthrough individual season with 15 goals and eight assists in 37 Premier League games last year.
The one tasked with stopping Odegaard will be Rodri. The Spaniard works silently as a scanner in the midfield area of Man City. In addition, he is also ready to score goals when needed. Rodri is being rated as the best defensive midfielder in the world at the moment.
5. GABRIEL MARTINELLI VS KYLE WALKER
Innate speed becomes the powerful weapon of the Brazilian star. The situations of sticking to the side, cutting the armpits in from Martinelli promise to create a permanent threat to the Man City defense system.
The task of stopping, locking down Martinelli is assigned to Walker. At the age of 33, the Three Lions player is one of the most experienced stars in Pep Guardiola’s squad. Walker promises to become a formidable counterweight to Martinelli.
6. BUKAYO SAKA VS MANUEL AKANJI
Saka improved dramatically last season with 14 goals and 11 assists in 38 Premier League matches. Despite his decline at the end of the season, he is undeniably one of the best right-wingers in the Premier League at the moment.
Confronting Saka will be Manuel Akanji, who can be arranged to play as a left-sided center back in Man City’s 3 central defenders in the upcoming Super Cup match. With good bodybuilding, fitness and speed, Akanji will be a difficult opponent to overcome with Saka.