Why is Arsenal vs Man City being played this week?
So, here it is. The big one. Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns for their first Premier League meeting of the season on Wednesday night.
Very few projected Mikel Arteta's Gunners to be City's biggest threat for their crown before the 2022/23 season got underway, but the north London outfit have embarked on a remarkable campaign up until this point.
However, after Brentford took two points off the league leaders on Saturday, Arsenal's advantage over City at the summit is just three and victory for the visitors on Wednesday would see them usurp the Gunners as the Premier League's top dog for the first time in months.
It's poised to be a tense but hopefully thrilling evening at the Emirates, with fans having to wait an eternity for this fixture to play out.
On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, part of the 90min podcast network, Harry Symeou looks back at Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford - a game filled with VAR controversy and more dropped points for the leaders.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
When were Arsenal vs Man City originally meant to be playing?
These two sides were meant to meet for the first time this season back on Wednesday 19 October 2022.
Why is Arsenal vs Man City being played this week?
The death of Queen Elizabeth II meant Arsenal's Europa League clash at home to PSV Eindhoven, scheduled for 15 September, was postponed due to a lack of available police.
For a period, it looked as if Arsenal would have to forfeit this European tie before the Premier League agreed to postpone their midweek domestic clash against Man City in order for them to rerrange the PSV fixture.
Thus, the Gunners played the Dutch side instead of City back in October with the Premier League announcing a rearranged date (Wednesday 15 February) for this potential title showdown during the World Cup.
When is the reverse fixture between Arsenal and Man City?
The Emirates Stadium plays host to the first clash between these two title rivals, but they won't have to wait too long to line up against each other again.
Okay, it's not quite Leeds vs Manchester United levels of close - they played each other twice in the space of four days - but it's just over two months until Arteta makes the trip up to his former employers with his hungry young guns.
Wednesday April 26 is the date for everybody's diary, with kick-off at the Etihad Stadium penned in for 8pm.