Last season's Premier League top two collide in a heavyweight affair at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when Manchester City and Arsenal battle for first place and bragging rights.
Pep Guardiola's men pipped the Gunners to the 2023-24 title by just two points, and they coincidentally hold an identical advantage over Mikel Arteta's side at this juncture in 2024-25, having won each of their first four games of the new term.
Neither meeting between the two clubs last season saw fireworks fly, as the Gunners edged a close battle at the Emirates 1-0 thanks to a deflected Gabriel Martinelli winner before the two behemoths shook hands on a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium over the Easter period.
However, a handful of Arsenal and Man City players - both current and former - made a habit of scoring against the other, and here, Sports Mole looks at the five highest scorers in matches between the Gunners and the Citizens.
=5. Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal)
Goals: 7
Appearances: 9
First goal vs. Man City: Oct 6, 1956
Last goal vs. Man City: Sep 20, 1958
A frequent tormentor of Man City defences during the 1960s, Jimmy Bloomfield bagged seven goals between Arsenal and the current Premier League champions, all of which came in five successive First Division matches.
Bloomfield even netted a hat-trick against Man City in March 1958, and after leaving the Gunners in 1960, he scored three times for Birmingham City versus the Citizens to reach double figures overall.
=5. Doug Lishman (Arsenal)
Goals: 7
Appearances: 8
First goal vs. Man City: Apr 1, 1950
Last goal vs. Man City: Sep 14, 1954
Sitting in seventh place on Arsenal's all-time top scorers list with 137 goals, seven of Doug Lishman's strikes for the Gunners came against Manchester City in the First Division during the early 1950s.
The late Englishman notched his seven goals against the Citizens in just eight appearances, and they were his joint-third favourite opponent behind Sunderland (10) and Bolton Wanderers (8).
3. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Goals: 8
Appearances: 20
First goal vs. Arsenal: May 5, 2016
Last goal vs. Arsenal: April 26, 2023
Against no other team has Kevin De Bruyne performed as well on the goalscoring front as he has done against Arsenal, bagging eight goals in 21 matches versus the Gunners, playing 20 of those games for Man City and one for Chelsea.
All eight of De Bruyne's goals versus Arsenal have come in the Premier League, including three in each of the 2019-20 and 2022-23 campaigns; he had a direct hand in five of City's seven goals against Arteta's side in the latter year.
2. John Radford (Arsenal)
Goals: 10
Appearances: 17
First goal vs. Man City: Sep 23, 1967
Last goal vs. Man City: Oct 16, 1974
Only Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Cliff Bastin have scored more goals for Arsenal than the legendary John Radford, who notched 149 efforts for the Gunners in total, 10 of which came against his favourite opponent Man City.
The Citizens were the only documented side that Radford reached double figures against, and he also went unbeaten in his first 11 appearances against the current English champions before a 2-1 First Division loss in 1971.
1. Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Goals: 11
Appearances: 19
First goal vs. Arsenal: November 29, 2011
Last goal vs. Arsenal: March 2, 2019
The all-time record scorer in matches between Arsenal and Man City, Sergio Aguero was responsible for 11 goals against the Gunners during his distinguished career in English football, which came in a seven-and-a-half-year spell from 2011 to 2019.
Among the Argentine's noteworthy goals in this fixture were City's opener in the 2017-18 EFL Cup final, and his first and only hat-trick against the Gunners in March 2019, when he scored his last goals in this mouthwatering matchup.
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