Expect Arsenal to line up in their usual 4-3-3, with the full-backs pushing high and the double pivot shielding a back four that will be desperate to prove the Dortmund blip was a one-off. The midfield battle will be ferocious — Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard versus City's new-look engine room. Maresca will likely stick with the 4-2-3-1 that worked in Asia, with Marmoush as the central threat and Semenyo providing width and direct running. The key clash is out wide: Arsenal's inverted wingers cutting inside against City's full-backs, who love to overlap. If Arsenal's press is coordinated, they can force City into the long ball — but City's short-passing machine is built to play through pressure.

Set pieces could be decisive. Arsenal have been the Premier League's set-piece kings in recent seasons, and with City's zonal marking still a work in progress under a new coach, there is blood in the water. But City will not just sit back. They will dominate possession, stretch the pitch, and look for the half-space runners — Marmoush and Aït-Nouri arriving late. This is a chess match with both coaches willing to adapt. The game state matters: if Arsenal score first, they can sit in a mid-block and hit on the break. If City score first, Arsenal will have to open up, and that is where Maresca's side can knife through the lines.