Guardiola advised on how to stop Arsenal’s Martinelli

Micah Richards has advised Pep Guardiola on how he can stop Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli from causing havoc at the Etihad Stadium.

City host Premier League leaders in what is potentially a title decider, and the Gunners are expected to heavily depend on Martinelli’s speed and creativity.

To Richards, an effective way for Guardiola is to line up Kyle Walker so that he can deal with the Brazilian.

In the recent past, Walker has played less prominent roles as Guardiola prefers a defensive line-up that consists of center-backs.

"The pressure is off Arsenal because everyone expects City to win that game. One way to play against City is on the counter-attack. I would play [Kyle] Walker in that game to stop Martinelli," Richards told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"His pace is frightening. Everyone talks about [Bukayo] Saka and [Martin] Odegaard, but nobody talks about Martinelli. On transition, he is frightening."

Despite draws against Liverpool, West Ham United, and Southampton, Richards believes a key game for Arsenal is the one against City which he says they must win if they have to stand a chance of ending a long title wait.

"The Southampton game was a little bit different [to draws against Liverpool and West Ham], having not played that well and managing to score two late goals.

"Even though at the end they were all on the floor distraught, I just believe they were always going to have to go to Manchester City to win if they want to win the league.

"There were always going to be bumps in the road, and for Arsenal fans. I don’t think anything has changed. It’s just going to the Etihad right now is a difficult task."

The Gunners go into the match leading by five points but have played two more games than City.