Last Sunday was something of a chastening day for Arsenal fans. Few underestimated the task ahead of their team as they took on Premier League leaders Manchester City at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final and they all understood that their team were underdogs.

What they could not have expected was the utter capitulation during the game, which resulted in Manchester City winning the match 3-0 in one of the most one-sided and comprehensive victories in a domestic cup final in many years.

The fallout from the game has been felt in the days following the match. Many TV pundits, some of them ex-Arsenal legends, have questioned whether Arsene Wenger should remain as Arsenal manager following another poor display and shocking defeat to a top six side.

It is worth putting these comments in greater context beyond the defeat at the weekend: Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League last season but awarded Wenger a new 2-year extension to his contract, despite many fans clamouring for change. This season, they are now out of both domestic cup competitions, they lie a distant sixth place in the Premier League with only slim hopes of finishing in the Champions League places and they face a massive Europa League Round of 16 clash in the next fortnight against the in-form Italian giants AC Milan.

The Europa League may be Arsenal’s best chance of regaining Champions League football next season, which makes that tie with AC Milan absolutely crucial for the Gunners.

This then makes Thursday’s rearranged Premier League clash between the two teams at the Emirates Stadium all the more important. For Manchester City, it is another chance to regain their 16 point lead at the top of the table over Manchester United.

For Arsenal though it is a chance at redemption following their shambolic performance on Sunday, a chance for Arsene Wenger to once again prove his critics wrong and for the players, so heavily criticised by many on Sunday, to show their quality once again.

Can Lightning Strike Twice?

Thursday’s game has somewhat similar echoes to the last time Manchester City won what was then the Capital One Cup Final back in 2016. Then, they faced Liverpool at Wembley and after a 1-1 draw, City claimed the trophy by winning a penalty shootout.

However, just five days after this game, they were due to play Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League and the Reds gained sweet revenge for that cup final loss with a 3-0 win over City, in what was a dominant performance by the reds.

What are Arsenal’s chances of following Liverpool’s example on Thursday?

Although the Gunners lie sixth in the table, some 27 points worse off than City, Arsenal do have a formidable home record in the Premier League that is only bettered by Manchester City and Manchester United. They have won 10, drawn 2 and lost just one of their 13 home league games so far.

Oddly enough, that is the exact same record that Manchester City have in their away games this season, although it should be noted that in their last three Premier League away games City have drawn at Crystal Palace, lost at Liverpool and drawn at Burnley, picking up just 2 points from a possible nine available.

The teams met at the Etihad earlier in the season and it was Manchester City who won that match 3-1 in a game that they dominated.

Our Tip: Back Arsenal to win at 16/5 with Coral Sport

Arsenal have had several instances of situations like this in the past few years and each time, the Gunners have come back from a brutal result, to put in a fine performance in their next game. They have a superb record at home and they will be itching to put the record straight against a City team who are miles clear in the Premier League.

That’s not to say City will take it easy for this game. Pep Guardiola certainly won’t allow that from his team, but I think the fact that their first trophy has been won will ease the pressure on him and the team somewhat and I think rather than being a good thing, this could see a tiny drop in performance.

That may be all Arsenal need to grab what would be a surprise win here and at those odds for a team with a 10-2-1 home record, I’m going to take them while they are still on offer.

Coral Special New Customer Offer for Arsenal v Manchester City

If you are quick then Coral Sports have a fantastic New Customer Offer running for the Arsenal v Manchester City clash at the Emirates on Thursday. Sign up as a new customer with Coral this week and deposit some cash into your account, then head on over to the My Markets section of the Coral site and place a £1 (maximum) bet on the “Arsenal v Man City – A Goal to be Scored 33/1” market available there.

Then sit back and enjoy the game knowing that if either of the teams scores a goal on the night, then your bet will pay you back £33, plus your stake money back.

Furthermore, if the game fizzles out into a 0-0 draw, Coral will give you a free £5 bet as a welcome bonus to the site anyway. It is an offer that you cannot lose out on if you are new customer to Coral.

Weekend Premier League Accumulator

As well as being in action on Thursday, Arsenal and Manchester City are also back in action at the weekend in a full week of Premier League games taking place from Saturday through to Monday evening.

The full list of fixtures for the weekend is outlined below:

Matchday 29 Premier League Fixtures

  • Burnley v Everton (12.30)
  • Leicester City v Bournemouth
  • Swansea City v West Ham
  • Tottenham v Huddersfield Town
  • Southampton v Stoke City
  • Watford v West Bromwich Albion
  • Liverpool v Newcastle United (5.30)
  • Brighton v Arsenal (Sun 1.30)
  • Man City v Chelsea (Sun 4.00)
  • Crystal Palace v Man Utd (Mon 8.00)

What I have done is gone through the fixture list with Coral Sport and picked my choice of result for each match in the Match Result market and put this together in a massive 11-fold accumulator with Coral Sport.

My tips are as follows:

  • Burnley v Everton – Home Win
  • Leicester City v Bournemouth – Home Win
  • Swansea City v West Ham – Draw
  • Tottenham v Huddersfield Town – Home Win
  • Southampton v Stoke City – Home Win
  • Watford v West Bromwich Albion – Home Win
  • Liverpool v Newcastle United – Home Win
  • Brighton v Arsenal – Draw
  • Man City v Chelsea – Home Win
  • Crystal Palace v Man Utd – Away Win

If you decide to place this bet with Coral Sport, then you would get odds of 331.29/1 on the bet, meaning a £10 stake would offer you a return of £3312.90.  Plus you would also qualify for a free £100 bet as part of Corals 4+ Acca Boost promotion.