Peter Drury shows how he prepares for games before Arsenal vs Man City | OneFootball

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Peter Drury has gone viral on social media after giving fans an insight into how he prepares for games ahead of Arsenal’s 1-0 victory against Manchester City on Sunday. The footage helps to show why he is one of the best in the business and how he adds value to games.

Drury has been Sky Sports’ commentator since the conclusion of the 2022/23 Premier League season, with veteran match caller Martin Tyler stepping away from the post this summer. Tyler had been the voice of Sky for 33 years but left the company in June this year.

Fans have had to get used to a new voice calling the big matches on Sunday afternoon, although most are familiar with Drury’s work already. He had yet another mammoth fixture ahead of him during the most recent weekend of fixtures, with Arsenal and City looking to gain an early advantage in the season’s title race.

Arsenal’s victory was a dull affair

The game was billed as a clash between two of the Premier League’s best, but in the end, it proved to be a rather boring match. It was a very tight game in which defences reigned supreme, despite the wide array of attacking talent like Erling Haaland being on the pitch.

Great chances were a premium, and that was reflected in the match stats. There were only three shots on target during the entire game, and neither side created clear-cut efforts. Man City only amassed an expected goals total of 0.48, and things were even bleaker for Arsenal, with a total xG of just 0.39.

Stats taken from Sofascore.

In the end, a huge slice of luck was needed for the only goal of the game. Substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck in the 86th minute with a shot which took a huge deflection off of Nathan Ake on its way into the net. Not that Arsenal fans inside the stadium cared about that, though.

Drury gives amazing insight into his pre-match preparations

Aside from the goal and a few other moments during the 90 minutes, though, little of note happened in the weekend’s biggest match. But that did not stop Drury from keeping fans entertained with his commentary once again, especially for the goal.

The iconic commentator has previously spoken about the attitude he takes to more boring games of football, describing how it can be exciting even when nothing happens because of the tension inside the stadium among partisan fans. That alone helps to make him one of the most entertaining people to listen to no matter the game.

But the other reason he is excellent at his job is because of the meticulous preparation that he puts into games, something which was highlighted before Arsenal’s victory on Sunday. Sky Sports shared a clip on X (formally Twitter) which has since gone viral and has been viewed 2.8m times, with Drury giving a peak behind the curtain as to how he prepares for games.

Joking not to go too close because of his terrible handwriting, he shows the many sheets of paper he has in front of him detailing the teams, before showing players from each squad and the managers with incredible degrees of detail on every page.

There are also notes on the fixture’s history and many more details which he just lists as ‘etcetera’ which help him flesh out games. Given all of the above, we really shouldn’t be surprised that so many have loved having him cover games so far this season. Check out the footage for yourselves below.

Video: Drury shows fans how he prepares

What next for Arsenal and City?

Following the game, Arsenal went second in the table, level on points and goal difference with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. City, meanwhile, are two points worse off in third, following two consecutive league defeats.

The international break offers all teams an opportunity to reset, with two weeks in-between Premier League fixtures. Arsenal will resume their title charge on Saturday 21st October when they play Chelsea in a London derby, while City have a tricky fixture at home to Brighton on the same day.