War of the WAGs: Man City versus Arsenal

Very little has separated Arsenal and Manchester City over the last two years.

Five points in 2022-23, just two the year after, and playing styles that seem almost identical to the average viewer.

Even the managers share their Spanish origins, with Mikel Arteta also an attentive apprentice to Pep Guardiola at the Etihad in his early coaching days.

But make way for the WAGs.  

These crucial members of the support group hold the key to discovering the real differences between the title contenders.

They meet on Sunday in a match which will set the tone for another long and arduous race to be top come May - and the early-season showdown seems the perfect time to brush up on the two tribes of WAGs facing off, not literally hopefully, in the stands.

Let's face it. Arsenal are the nice guys. Two decades without a title, a plucky young manager and last-minute capitulations that remind you they really are the same old Gunners.

And their WAGs only exacerbate the vibe at the Emirates, with pairs of partners spotted dancing after games and meeting outside of matchdays to ramp up the feel-good atmosphere in north London.

Gone are the days of going ballistic in Baden Baden, shopping sprees and salacious scandals - leave all that to the Etihad bunch. Arsenal's signficant others are significantly more reserved, wholesome even, than those that came before them.

At its core: a group including Helene Spilling, captain Martin Odegaard's girlfriend; Sophia Havertz, Kai's wife; Tolami Benson, Bukayo Saka's girlfriend; Milly White, Ben's wife; and Laura Trossard Hilven, Leandro Trossard's wife.

This Arsenal 'It' crowd regularly socialise away from the Emirates with four of them huddling around a television at one of their homes to watch Arsenal thrash Sheffield United 6-0 in March.

Things get even more pally on a matchday with pairs seen posing for photos and dancing as their men perform out on the pitch - Spilling was even spotted busting out her best moves to Shakira's 'Waka Waka' in the stands in April.

The group travelled to Munich shortly after to support their partners in the second leg of the Gunners' Champions League quarter-final.

Trossard Hilven shared a picture of herself, Spilling, Weber and White all decked out in Arsenal's away kit in a box at the Allianz Arena ahead of kick-off.

After Arsenal were knocked out by Bayern after losing 1-0 in Germany, Trossard Hilven posted a picture of her and Weber smiling at full-time and captioned it:

'What a friendship. Keeping each other warm. Even after the result we have US. Behind our men.'

This is WAGs playing their part - being a help not a hindrance. It's all a far cry from their predecessors who, at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, drew more attention than the football with their antics.

The likes of Cheryl Cole and Coleen Rooney were known for legendary nights dancing on tables in small restaurants in picturesque rural Germany, racking up bar tabs dwarfing most people's annual salary.

Unsurprisingly, it's something the meticulous Arteta values. 

When Mail Sport asked about this growing group of families socialising together, the Spaniard said: 'That's great to see obviously because it's needed. We have a lot of foreign players that obviously they have their families, wives, girlfriends around and they need support.

'They need to build those friendships and those close circles around them. 

'We have created that, big credit to them and how much they have put into that because it's really helpful for the team so if they are happy, much better because the players are gonna be happy and more settled.

'It gives you a much bigger sense of belonging somewhere when you really feel that you are part of something.'

This is especially important with a host of new signings coming through the door each summer - integrating is easier if your new colleagues' families greet yours with open arms and help them settle in.

Mikel Merino, who signed from Real Sociedad in the summer, married Lola Liberal in January 2024 after five years together.

His model wife has not posted on Instagram, where she boasts more than 8,000 followers, since the couple departed Spain - her most recent being a thank you statement to the midfielder's old club.

Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling's fiancee of six years Paige Milian has become the latest member of the group after the forward switched west London for north in a move from Chelsea this summer.

Milian, who appeared in the stands with their children at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is no stranger to the WAG scene but will appreciate a friendly new set of girls at the Emirates.

If Arsenal's support group are sociable, supportive and scandal-free - then City's are anything but.

She may have changed her tune now, giving her blessing for her husband's return to Manchester, but Ilkay Gundogan's wife famously gave a brutal assessment of what the city had to offer.

'Sorry, I'm sad to be honest but nothing [to recommend],' Sara Gundogan said when asked about Manchester's culinary scene. 'I tried [sic] so bad to find a good restaurant but horrible food everywhere.

'Can't find a real Italian or good sushi or just fresh food… everything frozen.

'Restaurants here are focused on making money with drinks and shot [sic] like nightclubs, not quality food. 

'Maybe in London but in Manchester nothing. I'm sorry.'

Not one to mince her words, the 29-year-old has more recently directed her ire towards the city of Barcelona and said she 'missed' living in the north-western city.

Kyle Walker's WAG struggles are well-documented, with the right-back copping flack from two fronts at various times.

The 34-year-old has been at the centre of a feud between wife and childhood sweetheart Annie Kilner, and influencer Lauryn Goodman, having fathered children with both women.

The latest update in the ongoing soap opera revealed that Walker had moved back into the marital home and was 'working' on his marriage. 

He was booted out by his wife, 32, in January after Goodman rang her just after Christmas to tell her that Kyle was the father of her second child, Kinara, as well as the older boy Kairo. Annie, pregnant at the time, was hugely distressed.

Walker was present for the birth of Rezon, their fourth son, but they spent the summer living apart, with Kyle in an apartment in Manchester.

Former mistress Lauryn Goodman, who is currently appearing on Celebs Go Dating, has capitalised on the situation with a number of media appearances, including bringing their son Kairo to watch his father in the Euros over the summer.

Not quite the Shakira-playing, group-hugging tranquility of the Emirates then. 

As for Phil Foden's girlfriend Rebecca Cooke, though she tends to keep a low profile, the family recently attracted the ire of neighbours in Cheshire.

It was reported over the summer that a party at their mansion ran until midnight and that it was the final straw for residents who had grown tired of the lack of respect being shown by the household. 

The family, which includes three children, moved to the area in 2021 with those who live close by telling The Sun their lives have been 'hell' since their arrival. 

The allegations against the Fodens stem from loud gangster rap regularly being played late at night and their dog barking all day.

In an open letter, residents in his road in Prestbury, Cheshire, branded him 'selfish' and called for City to get involved.

Cheshire Police acknowledged the complaint but told neighbours to contact the council.

Dancing or drama. Cuddling or complaining. Shakira or gangster rap. Only one set of WAGs can set the early pace in the title race on Sunday... 

Unless of course they draw once more.