Arsenal vs Manchester City Report: Defense Wins Games

Arsenal vs Manchester City FINAL: 2-0

Arsenal came into the Etihad to face Manchester City needing three points to get back ahead of Tottenham in the standings. They’d do just that in perhaps their most impressive showing this year.

Right from the start, we noticed a change in tactics. Arsenal weren’t fast out of the gate, they were controlled and disciplined, proving to me that Arsene Wenger is actually capable of learning. What has been called a flimsy defense looked stoic and near impenetrable.

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The counter attacking play was proving to be pretty effective and it paid off when Nacho Monreal drew a penalty in the 24th minute that Santi Cazorla put away, despite Joe Hart guessing the right way.

From there, it was the same story, frustrating Manchester City with unbreakable defense and discipline that has been missing from Wenger’s side all year.

It was 1-0 going into half and right out of the gate in the second half, City was on a rampant attack, pushing harder than ever for that goal but they just couldn’t penetrate enough or trouble David Ospina.

The clincher came in the 67th minute, when Cazorla stepped up to a free kick and delivered a perfect ball that found Olivier Giroud’s unmarked head for Arsenal’s second goal.

And that would be it.

Ospina kept his second clean sheet in two games and is going to make it hard for Wenger to keep him out of the lineup.

It was an absolute brilliant game overall. Arsenal looked completely in control despite not controlling much possession. It would be hard to pick out a player who didn’t look good today, as it was incredibly apparent that everyone was on the same page and knew exactly what their responsibilities were.

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Next: Arsenal vs Manchester City Player Ratings