Arsenal kicks off a spell of several matches in a short period of time on Sunday against Manchester City at the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger is preparing himself and his squad for what is going to be a hectic few weeks for the Gunners. A draw against Swansea City for the FA Cup has forcedArsenal to replay the match at the Emirates, causing a significant amount of congestion in their match schedule.

Their first match will be against current champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The first meeting between these two sides ended in a 1-1 draw with Laurent Koscielny grabbing a late equaliser for Arsenal.

With ticket prices for this match causing a lot of English Football fans to voice their concerns due to the high prices, Arsenal fans will be expecting a solid performance. Who will the hosts depend on if they want to be successful on Sunday?

 

Theo Walcott 

According the Daily Mail, Arsenal is prepared to make a £25million offer to the 23-year-old Englishmen. That would put Walcott in the range of £88,000 per week, plus a £3million sign-on bonus. 

That may not be the best offer, nor what Walcott had asked for, but Arsene Wenger and his sidekicks will be hoping that is enough to lock down Walcott for the next five years.

If Walcott will take that offer or not is a completely different scenario, but for the time being, he will continue to be a big influence in Arsenal's game. His pace and his better judgement when it comes to making runs behind the defenders is helping him get more involved.

For quite some time, Walcott didn't really know how to use his pace to his advantage. Many will still say that is true, but like him or not, he has clearly evolved offensively in the last six to twelve months.

Sunday he will most likely start, or at least should start, so getting him involved early and often is a must for Arsenal. That will not only keep him happy and confident, but it will also get the Emirates crowd behind him.

Taking on defenders and making runs behind the City back-line should cause serious problems for the visitors. An in-form and confident Walcott will not be a cause for concern for City, but with them paying extra attention to Walcott will allow more freedom for some of the other Arsenal players.

Santi Cazorla

The Spanish International has looked a bit sluggish as of late, and that can have a lot to do with the amount of playing time he has had. He may well have played just as much in Spain when he represented Malaga last season, but the intensity level in a Premier League match could ask more of a player's fitness.

With a week off since Arsenal's last match at the Liberty Stadium, Cazorla will be instrumental in the Gunners offense, as he should be every match. 

The opposing teams know what he represents to Arsenal's offense, therefore they make sure to keep him as far away from the final third as possible. But, as we have seen a number of times this season, Arsenal can't afford to have Cazorla trying to organize the offense from their own midfield. 

It has been mentioned a number of times throughout the season, and it will likely be mentioned for the remainder of the season. If Cazorla is getting service in the final 30 or 40 yards of the pitch, he will cause serious problems given his talent and vision of the game.

The question is can Arsenal keep possession far enough up the pitch to allow Cazorla to get into these danger areas? Or will they lack offensive creativity as they have done so often this season, forcing the Spanish midfielder to pull the strings from well behind the halfway line?

Mikel Arteta 

Abou Diaby may finally make his way back to the first team squad on Sunday, butWenger will most likely not give him the start. Since the Frenchman may not be ready, up steps Mikel Arteta as he has done most of the season.

Playing a defensive role may not be his forte, but the former Everton man has helped fill the gap when needed. His only downfall is his lack of physicality and size, which is something Diaby brings to the table. Other than that, Arteta possesses the proper mentality and calmness in his game to be able to sort things out most of the time.

Going up against players like Kun Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva will not be easy. When these teams first met, Arteta featured in the midfield, but Diaby did as well. That took some of the defensive burden off of the Spaniard.

Sunday, Diaby may not be starting alongside him, so together with Jack Wilshere, they will both need to make sure Toure doesn't enjoy too much success.

His late runs into the box cause a lot of problems for opposing teams. His pace, footwork and size are three difficult things to deal with, but if Arteta and Wilshere can pressure him often, he won't have an easy day.

Other Notable Mentions

Lukas Podolski came in to help save the day for Arsenal in the FA Cup against Swansea City, so look for him to have an inspired match. He has been criticized at times throughout the season, but just like Cazorla, he is just getting adapted to the pace and expectations of the English Premier League. 

If the Arsenal faithful fail to give him time to adapt, it could have serious consequences in Podolski's confidence on the pitch.

One last notable player has to be Kieran Gibbs. The left-back put on one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt against Swansea City. While defensively he may need some more work on his positioning, offensively, he was impressive. 

Getting down the sideline and providing support to the offense was vital for Arsenal on the day. Coming off that performance, and at home against Manchester City, Gibbs will certainly be up for this match.

Who do you think will be important for Arsenal on Sunday and why?

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