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With Liverpool seizing the Premier League title, claiming the FA Cup could be a decent consolation prize for Manchester City. Arsenal have had an inconsistent year, but could still pose problems for Pep Guardiola’s team.
We’ll be providing you with betting tips for this fascinating FA Cup semi-final. Can City get something from a fairly frustrating season, or will Mikel Arteta inspire Arsenal onto greater things? Find out with our expert predictions.
Arsenal is certainly a team in transition, but things seem to be improving under Mikel Arteta. The side is in with a fair shot of clawing back a Europa League spot after a wildly inconsistent season.
Much of this can be put down to the goalscoring excellence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But other forwards like Alexander Lacazette and promising youngster Buyako Saka have proven that Arsenal possess a real threat.
However, Arteta has struggled to contain several wayward characters like David Luiz, Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka. Plus with a notoriously frail defence, it looks like Arsenal will need a lot of luck to win this match.
Manchester City will have to do without the firepower of Sergio Aguero, but there’s plenty more goalscoring talent in the team. Gabriel Jesus looks to have regained his goalscoring touch, Raheem Sterling is the form of his life, while Riyad Mahrez is always a wildcard.
Key playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was rested for City’s recent game against Bournemouth, and he’ll be pivotal for the team’s performance. Plus with experience from David Silva and youth from Phil Foden, it’s clear that Guardiola’s team is packed with talent.
While City missed Aymeric Laporte for much of the season, the French star will be present to provide stability to the defence. All of which means that Arsenal will have their hands full.
Arsenal has historically had the upper hand in these encounters with 96 wins compared to 57 for Manchester City. However, if you look at recent matches, then City have dominated things.
This is because Manchester City have won their last seven successive games against Arsenal. The last time that Arsenal managed to beat City was a 2-1 win in the 2017 FA Cup.
What’s particularly notable is the fact that Manchester City managed to score three goals in their last three meetings with Arsenal. This should definitely be factored in when making your predictions, especially given City’s goalscoring ability in the Premier League in recent weeks.
Arsenal and Manchester City last met in the Premier League in mid-June 2025. This saw City winning 3-0 and it was notable for being one of the worst matches of David Luiz’s career. The Arsenal defender not only set up a goal for Raheem Sterling, but the blundering Brazilian also conceded a penalty.
Prior to this, City also beat Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates in December 2019. This saw Sterling getting his name on the scoresheet, while De Bruyne once again illustrated why he might be the Premier League’s best player by picking up two well-crafted goals.
You’ll have to go back to 2015 to find the last time that Arsenal managed to beat Manchester City by more than one goal. But as Arsenal’s last victory over City came when the sides last played each other in the FA Cup, it’s clear that anything could happen when Saturday comes around.
Not only does this FA Cup semi-final see two of the ‘big six’ in action against each other, but it gives us chance to see how Mikel Arteta gets on against his old mentor, Pep Guardiola.
Arteta spent over three years as the assistant coach at Manchester City, and he will have learned plenty of tricks from Guardiola. Although Arteta was unable to inspire Arsenal to success in their recent defeats against City, it’s clear that he will be savouring the chance to get one over his old boss.
Understandably most bookies have Manchester City down as being the clear favourites to win this match. However, unless you fancy betting on odds of 1.33 for a City win, then you are not going to get much of a return from backing Guardiola’s team.
So this is why we are backing Manchester City to go on another goalscoring rout, and we’d suggest putting down a bet on City to win by exactly three goals. While there’s always the chance of Arsenal getting a goal, we think that this should be a comfortable game for City. You can get odds of 5.60 for this bet at Unibet (Check out the latest Unibet free bet) (Check out the latest Unibet free bet).
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