This was an absolute walk in the park for Manchester City. It was only 1-0, but the gulf in class was evident - from start to finish. City scored ridiculously early, and held Arsenal at arm's length with consummate ease for the rest of the game.
Arsenal were caught cold early on (I'm sick of these slow starts!), in a quite majestic opening 7-8 minutes when City scored once and could have had a further two or three, and that was the end of the game as a contest. Throughout the rest of the game, I never felt that Arsenal were going to score, and feel that even if they had then City would have simply broken out of second gear to score again.
Of the 11 who started Dias, Cancelo and De Bruyne are absolutely world class, and Sterling and Mahrez (a vastly under-rated player in my opinion) are not far behind. And Pep has got them purring, no matter who plays; just look at the players not selected for this game!
Liverpool, who won the Premier League last season, are suffering in this one because of their great centre-back misfortunes. But that amount of injuries would not affect this City squad, as they have so much talent in reserve, and Guardiola's biggest problem would appear to be keeping them all happy - perhaps that's why he rotates the side so much.
For me, Arsenal had a single player on show yesterday who could make his way even into the City squad, and that's Bukayo Saka. Of the rest of the squad, Tierney may come close - but he was caught far enough out of position to allow Mahrez his sumptuous assist - and I'd expect that Partey would do well there too. And that's it.
And so to the game, and on seeing the Arsenal side I couldn't help but wonder if Arteta was prioritising the Europa League over a game he felt he could never win. Pablo Mari came back into central defence, and Elneny was preferred to Ceballos in the continued absence of the aforementioned Partey. Odegaard was preferred to ESR, and Pepe came back into the side on the right with Auba up top. We'll certainly see changes for Thursday!
The game started, and it was clear that Pep had a plan. The Arsenal full backs' starting positions are often quite high up the pitch, and Sterling and Mahrez were soon exploiting this. Mahrez almost played in Sterling after just 45 seconds, and just a few seconds later the Algerian's brilliant trap and close control mesmerised Tierney, and his exquisite cross was headed in by the giant (5'7") Sterling at the back post. Holding should have done much better with the cross, but it was brilliant from Mahrez. And Sterling even had the time and presence of mind to angle his header away from Leno and into the side netting.
After that, City played like they were in a mere training session. Arsenal spent long periods chasing shadows, and for much of the first half it felt like they were being occasionally allowed the ball on sufferance. Things got a little better in the second half, but in truth City were cruising. They had a total of 611 passes, but a mere 15 shots - merely indicating how they felt able to treat the match like a kickabout in the park. Whether playing around or through Arsenal, they did pretty much what they wanted. The use of the diagonal ball also did a lot to confuse Arsenal.
They also have this clever knack of snuffing out possible danger with tactical fouls. They don't get into too much trouble because they're so high up the pitch most of the time, but it's something we are all aware of. And Cancelo was unnecessarily harsh on and late on Tierney at one point, and also inadvertently kicked Holding in the head late on - cue the 'concussion substitute' appearance of David Luiz.
This is supposed to be an Arsenal blog, but I can't help but major on City, who are a delight to watch. However, getting back to matters in hand, I'd say this: I have no idea what game Arteta was watching! I know that he would want to big his side up, but they really got the run-around, and to suggest anything else is being somewhat 'economical' with the truth. How he could say that 'We were on top of the game' with a straight face, I do not know.
Nonetheless, Arsenal kept at it, and that should be admired - I suppose. But too many players were ineffective. Odegaard had a quiet game. Pepe and Aubameyang did almost nothing (I remain to be convinced by Pepe, for all I'd love him to succeed), and I feel that Arsenal are more effective with Auba playing off the left. It's unfortunate, with Thursday in mind, that Saka didn't get even a bit of a rest.
It is clear that Thursday's game is the most important of the next two. We need to get through in the Europa League, and Leicester away on Sunday is considerably more difficult. After that, it does get a little easier - what isn't after a game against City? - but it's crucial to stay in touch. Any decent run could see us back on the coat tails of the European spots, but perhaps I'm being too optimistic.
The truth is that we're not very good, but neither are we very bad. We can't judge our merit against a side like City - they are THAT good - but there are points to be picked up in the next few weeks and if we can tuck a Europa League Last 16 spot in there, then that should bring some confidence. Expect plenty of changes for Thursday, and Benfica are certainly beatable. I am as confident - as confident as this Arsenal side can make anyone feel - that we can qualify.
Stay safe. Back in a week's time.
No comments:
Post a Comment