15 February 2023 , 12:33
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As Arsenal prepare to face Manchester City in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash, they'll be looking to do something they haven't done in the league in more than seven years.
Victory for Mikel Arteta's team could be huge in shaping the title race, while defeat could be devastating. It's the difference between moving six points clear and putting dropped points against Everton and Brentford behind them, and seeing reigning champions City go top for the first time in six months.
The Gunners could face a roadblock in the form of recent history. Arteta's team got the better of City en route to winning the FA Cup in 2020, but you have to go back to December 2015 - when the current Arsenal boss was still playing - for the last time the London side came out on top in the league.
Back in December 2015, Arsenal sat one point and one place above City in the Premier League table. Both were playing catch-up to unlikely leaders Leicester in the title race, but a win for either at the Emirates Stadium would take the victor within a win of Claudio Ranieri's side.
Ultimately it was Arsenal who came out on top, with Arsene Wenger's men going in 2-0 up at the break and Yaya Toure's goal for City proving too little, too late. Here, Mirror Football looks at the Gunners' line-up from that day to show how much has changed.
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Goalkeeper and defence
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Petr Cech and Per Mertesacker helped keep Man City quiet (Getty Images)With Wojciech Szczesny leaving on loan in the close-season, Petr Cech was Arsenal's first choice after arriving from Chelsea. The Czech international played 34 of the 38 league games that season, and was coming off successive clean sheets including a shut-out against Olympiakos which saw his team reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
In front of the Czech international were long-serving centre-backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker . The season was Mertesacker's last as a regular, with injuries hitting the German at the tail end of his career, and French international Koscielny would eventually succeed his defensive partner as club captain
The full-back spots, meanwhile, were filled by Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin . Both men played more than 35 times in the league as Wenger's men finished as runners-up, and also started both legs as Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona.
Midfield
Aaron Ramsey started while other stars missed out through injury (Getty Images)Arsenal's two deeper-lying midfielders in the victory were Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini . A number of the Gunners' other central midfielders suffered from injury issues that season, meaning youngster Jeff Reine-Adelaide was among the unused substitutes.
Current manager Arteta was among those used sparingly, while Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere also missed a number of games. Injury worries in midfield prompted Wenger to complete a £5m swoop for Mohamed Elneny just weeks later, with the Egyptian joining from Basel.
In front of Flamini and Ramsey was Mesut Ozil , in his typical number 10 role. The World Cup winning playmaker set up both of Arsenal's goals against City before making way for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and ended the season with a league-leading 19 assists.
Forwards
Theo Walcott's curler put Arsenal in front (Matthew Impey/Wiredphotos.co.uk)Both of Arsenal's goals that day came from members of the front three. Theo Walcott opened the scoring, curling in from the edge of the box after collecting a pass from Ozil, and Olivier Giroud doubled the lead from another Ozil ball, drilling a low effort through the legs of City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
With Alexis Sanchez missing, the third member of Arsenal's front three was Joel Campbell . The serial loanee only started 11 games during seven years on Arsenal's books, all of them in the 2015-16 season.
As Wenger looked to make sure of the three points, both Walcott and Campbell made way for defenders. Kieran Gibbs slotted in on the left after taking Campbell's's place, while Calum Chambers - in just his second Arsenal season - replaced Walcott for the final two minutes.
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