Sunday gossip

by Paul Handler@Handler_MCFC

Key Gunners changes, plus City's breakout star?

Welcome to your matchday media round-up as City take on an Arsenal side not managed by Arsene Wenger for the first time since March 5, 1996.

Gerry Creaney scored in a 3-1 defeat at Highbury that day, while Garry Flitcroft, Michael Frontzeck and Georgi Kinkladze were also among those on the losing Blues side. (Full line-ups here.)
Both Clubs have been through great change since then of course, most recently when Wenger's 22-year reign came to end at the end of the last campaign, with new boss Unai Emery providing Pep Guardiola and City with a fresh challenge first up in the Premier League.
Gunners defender Hector Bellerin has been speaking about what the new boss could bring, telling Arsenal.com: “We've seen he wants us to be a team that, first of all, don't concede goals. I think that's something that has always been important for his team, whether he was at PSG or Sevilla.
“You can see that his teams are very compact and compete for every single ball and that's what's made him so successful. He has had a lot of success with teams that probably weren't the best technically or didn't have the best players, but they fought till the end and he's showing that to every single player and that's the way he wants us to be involved."

Guardiola also addressed the Emery challenge at his press conference.
Jack Davies reported for Goal.com: "The Manchester City boss is backing a former rival from their time together in La Liga to challenge for major honours in English football.
"Pep Guardiola has backed Unai Emery to make an instant impact at Arsenal and turn the club back into Premier League title contenders.
"The Gunners have not won the league since 2004 and, after finishing fifth and sixth in the last two seasons, Arsene Wenger brought an end to his two-decade spell in charge.
"Arsenal turned to former Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain coach Emery to replace Wenger and the Spaniard welcomes Guardiola's Manchester City to Emirates Stadium on Sunday for his side's first match of the new campaign.
"City topped the table by 19 points last time around - 37 clear of Arsenal - but Guardiola, who will not be offering any words of advice to his opposite number this weekend, is confident the men from north London will be in the mix come the end of the season.
"'They can do it,' he told a news conference. 'He has enough experience to know exactly what [it takes]. He was in France, he was with many teams in Spain, so he has a lot of experience.
"'Maybe my advice is alright for me but it might not work for him. People spoke to me when I arrived saying it's like this or like that, but I discovered many things during the process, watching what happens.'"

When it comes to team news, talkSPORT have had a go at predicting the side City will face.
They write: "The new Gunners boss will be hoping Aaron Ramsey is fit after suffering a slight calf injury. The Welshman has returned to training.
"Sead Kolasinac and Laurent Koscielny are definitely out while Leno, Torreira, Sokratis Papasthathopoulos, Matteo Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner could all make their competitive debuts."

And finally, with it still being summer and the thwack of leather on willow still to be heard on village greens around the country, let's have a few City-related predictions from former Yorkshire and England quick-turned pundit Darren Gough.
He writes: "The Premier League is under way and in the spirit of all columnists, I feel it is high time to make some predictions.
"I cannot see any way past Manchester City, in terms of who will win it. They just have so much quality."
He adds: "I see Kevin de Bruyne smashing it in terms of the PFA player of the year. He will play an outstanding part for City on the back of an unbelievable World Cup."
And finally on our young star Phil Foden: "As for the breakthrough player, I see Phil Foden from City bursting onto the scene. I see it as being his year."
It's a good looking delivery that from Gough... and that's stumps for Sunday's media round-up! We'll be back on Monday morning for all the reaction to City's game.