Chris Sutton has issued his verdict on Mikel Arteta’s ‘priority’ at Arsenal ahead of their FA Cup trip to Manchester City. The Gunners visit their Premier League title rivals this Friday.
Arsenal currently lead Manchester City by five points in the top-flight table after 19 and 20 games respectively. Arteta’s team have also won a division-high 16 times to the 14 wins by Pep Guardiola’s side. They have further only lost once and drawn twice – both league lows.
A Premier League title this year will be the north London club’s first since Arsene Wenger’s 2003/04 Invincibles. Yet even as Arsenal went unbeaten, they did not reach 50 points in as few fixtures as this club-best campaign. The Gunners took 45 through 19 games that term.
So, Sutton believes Arteta will prioritise the Premier League title race over another FA Cup before Arsenal visit Manchester City. The Spaniard led the Gunners to a record 14th crown in 2019/20 after replacing Unai Emery at the club. They won it seven times under Wenger.
Arteta helped Wenger win two of his record FA Cup titles by a manager while a player with Arsenal. The former Gunners midfielder lifted the trophy in 2014 and 2015 during his time at Emirates Stadium from 2011 to 2016. He returned as their head coach in December 2019.
Sutton makes his Arteta ‘priority’ at Arsenal verdict for the FA Cup vs Man City
Sutton now wonders whether or not Arteta will truly press the issue of winning the FA Cup again this term with Arsenal and Manchester City embroiled in a Premier League title fight.
“City boss Pep Guardiola always selects strong teams in the domestic cups,” Sutton wrote in a column for BBC Sport. “But we don’t know how big Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will go given his side’s position at the top of the table.
“The FA Cup clearly won’t be Arteta’s priority. But his side have got so much momentum at the moment while City are still not at their fluid best.”
Manchester City made the FA Cup semi-finals last term before losing to Liverpool. Arsenal, on the other hand, crashed out in the third round after exiting in the fourth round in 2021. At no point in their run to the 2022 semi-finals did Guardiola name a majorly weakened line-up.
Arsenal, meanwhile, lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest in their opening fixture of the 2022 run. Arteta had rung the changes at the City Ground with just a handful of his regular starters in their XI. He also made a raft of changes to beat Oxford United in the third round this year.
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