Arsenal vs. Man City 'World Series' ruled out by Champions League draw

Arsenal vs. Man City 'World Series' ruled out by Champions League draw originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Arsenal and Manchester City look set to take the Premier League title race deep into the closing stages of the 2025/26 season.

The Gunners' emphatic 4-1 win over a beleaguered Tottenham in the north London derby restored their lead to five points on February 22, although City have a game in hand.

A date in the diary for fans of both clubs and the wider footballing world in the weekend of April 18/19, when City host Arsenal in the Premier League. After that game, both sides will have just five games to go in the English top flight.

The fact that Arsenal and City also meet in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 22 adds another irresistible note to a simmering rivalry.

But will Pep Guardiola and his old protege Mikel Arteta face one another in other competitions before the end of the season?

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How many times will Arsenal and Man City play before the end of the season?

Arsenal and City will play one another a maximum of four times and a minumum of two times before the end of 2025/26.

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League took place in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday, February 25. The draw did not just decide the games for the first knockout round proper; it also determined the prospective paths to the final for each participating team.

Arsenal won eight out of eight league phase games and progressed in first place, while City needed a win over Galatasaray on the final matchweek to sneak through in eighth on goal difference. Both teams were seeded, so they will face a playoff round winner and play the second leg of their last 16 match at home.

City play Real Madrid once again, while Arsenal take on Bayer Leverkusen. The latter aspect of the draw was key in terms of denying us City vs. Arsenal 'world series'. The Gunners needed to be paired with Atalanta, who instead face league phase runners-up Bayern Munich.

If both teams progress, City will take on the winners of Bayern vs. Atalanta, while Arsenal will get Sporting CP or Bodo/Glimt. Those quarterfinal games will take place on April 7/8 and April 14/15, with the second leg immediately before the City vs. Arsenal Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium.

There is still the possibility of another meeting between the teams around this time in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

Arteta's men face this season's surprise package, League One Mansfield Town, at Field Mill, while Guardiola's side will play Newcastle United for a fifth time this season when they travel to St James' Park.

If City and Arsenal get through and are drawn together, the FA Cup quarterfinals will take place on the weekend of April 4/5.

What a Man City vs. Arsenal 'World Series' could look like

Below are the fixture dates for Arsenal and City's two confirmed meetings for the rest of this season, plus the four other dates where there could be a maximum of two more clashes.

• March 22: Arsenal vs. Man City (Carabao Cup final)
• April 4/5: FA Cup quarterfinal
• April 18/19: Man City vs. Arsenal (Premier League)
• April 25/26: FA Cup semifinal
• May 16: FA Cup final
• May 30: Champions League final

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Arsenal vs. Man City head-to-head record

Overall, Arsenal have a clear advantage in the historical head-to-head, with 100 wins to City's 65. There have been 49 draws between the clubs.

City closed up this gap notably between November 2017 and April 2023 when they won 12 consecutive Premier League games against Arsenal.

The last of these was a 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium that meant Guardiola's side took a huge step towards the Premier League title at the Gunners' expense. 

Since then, Arsenal have not tasted defeat against City in six matches, with three wins and three draws. The first of those draws was in the 2023 FA Community Shield, which the north London club won on penalties.