16:17
Preamble
Hello. Manchester City used to be Mikel Arteta’s happy place. He did his job, people praised him, and the team he coached usually won. Heady days. Now Arteta returns to City in charge of an Arsenal team that has not won a match in a domestic competition for nearly two months and doubts are rife as to whether the manager knows what to do and how to get players back on board with his method and manner. After a bright start at Arsenal, Arteta seems engulfed in gloom. But a glimpse of silverware would bring some pre-Christmas cheer.
Arsenal beat Leicester and Liverpool(‘s second teams) in this tournament earlier in the season but City are likely to prove tougher. They tend to take this tournament seriously, winning it in five of the last seven years. So although Pep Guardiola will probably not deploy his strongest available side, he will show little mercy to his former assistant. As for Arteta, does he even know what his strongest side is any more?