Gunners have enough in their Arsenal to take points from City

However deflating losing a late lead at the Bernabeu may have been for Joe Hart and the rest of his Manchester City teammates, the Premier League champions must surely have taken plenty of positives from running the mighty Real Madrid so close on their own patch.

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On another night Los Blancos could and probably should have racked up a couple more goals and won with gloss but few sides on the planet – apart from Barcelona – are equipped enough to make a game of it in surroundings so daunting.

In the long and short of the Champions League group stages a defeat in the Spanish capital will have little bearing on their progress to the knock-out stages but continental exertions to the extent of a ninety minute ding dong against the La Liga holders invariably have repercussions elsewhere.

The major downside for City of being drawn in the most unpalatable of the groups is that they have to somehow relentlessly pursue progress on two fronts and a glimpse at Roberto Mancini’s fixture list before and after midweek duties shows trips to West Brom, West Ham and Chelsea along with home meetings with Manchester United, Tottenham and beginning this week, Arsenal.

There have been just eight goals between the two in the last seven meetings, including a pair of 1-0 home wins in the league last year and the only result to bloat that figure was the 3-0 win Arsenal posted at City in 2010 when the hosts went down to ten men early doors.

Last time out in the league they surrendered two points to Stoke City at the Britannia with more than half an eye on Madrid and Bobby Manc will need to astutely shuffle his pack to ensure maximum gains all round.

Of course Arsenal themselves also had a trip abroad on Tuesday and even though they collected three points it was far from a stroll in the south of France sun for the Wenger boys. Like Mancini, Wenger went with his strongest compliment for the tussle with Montpellier and may also need to dip into a pool significantly shallower than that of his opposite number.

At any juncture of the campaign it’s unusual to see Arsenal with the best defensive record in the division but after conceding just a solitary strike all season the Gunners appear to have finally added some rearguard defiance to their pretty pattern football.

Given City’s goalscoring exploits at the Etihad they will undoubtedly need to remain resolute here and despite all of the offensive talent on show, games between these two in recent seasons have been surprisingly low on strikes.

There have been just eight goals between the two in the last seven meetings, including a pair of 1-0 home wins in the league last year and the only result to bloat that figure was the 3-0 win Arsenal posted at City in 2010 when the hosts went down to ten men early doors.

The Citizens only dropped two points in the blue half of Manchester during 2011/12 and have already picked up six points and scored six goals since the resumption, but given the energy expanded in Madrid and the Gunners gumption I reckon they’ll match that tally by Sunday evening.

Bwins 3Way betting market has the draw at a relatively tight 5/2 with City 3/4 favourites for the win and Arsenal out at 15/4.

Madrid aside I’ve not been overly impressed with City so far and conceding eleven goals in six games must be a worry for the pragmatic Mancini. I certainly think Arsenal have a goal in them and both teams to score at 31/50 should be a cert with the 1-1 at 11/2 looking great value.

If you do fancy a draw then another punt definitely worth a go is the Gunners to win with a one goal handicap head start at evens and that’s where I’ll be going for this one.

If you fancy a free £20 bet courtesy of bwin then register here for an account, and sticking that money on the Gunners to void defeat could earn you £42.

But writing a side off with a home record like City’s is a dangerous game and there are some fantastic prices to be found if you’re backing the Blues.

The 33/20 for City to win with under 3.5 goals in the game is a good bet for those siding with the home side and if you think Arsenal to score and City to win is the way forward then the multiple correct score of 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 City is long at 13/4.

Recommended bet: Arsenal +1 @ evens

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