Arsenal Vs Manchester City: Some positives; same mistakes

Arsenal fell to Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. The match illustrated many of the same mistakes of yesteryear, but there were also some positives to be taken from the performance.

Before I start, I just want to make it clear that this is not me falling into negative mode after just one Arsenal game, as opposed to previous seasons where I’ve thought what’s the point after just 45 minutes.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

In all honesty, it went the way I was expecting when you consider Arsenal were coming up against one of the best sides in Premier League history. Unfortunately, it was the usual things that proved to be the team’s downfall. There was a couple of selection surprises before the match — Bernd Leno was benched in place of Petr Cech; youngster Matteo Guendouzi was given a start with Lucus Torreira on the bench — but this was a team undermined by its usual shortcomings.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

They were slow out of the blocks. City deserved their goal when Raheem Sterling opened the scoring inside the first 20 minutes. And it was the usual defensive frailties as no one closed the England winger down, affording him time to shoot, with Cech seeing the shot too late to dive to his right with any commitment. They responded well and Hector Bellerin had a decent chance to equalised. They pressed high up the pitch at certain moments but the final ball was lacking and Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang was starved of service, with players in new roles looking a little bit disjointed.

One of those players, Mesut Ozil, again disappeared in a big game when the team needed him to shine. I can’t think of one telling contribution he offered; he appeared lost and frustrated with very much the same body language he showed under Arsene Wenger.

Unai Emery has spoken highly of Ozil and he’s a seen as a key man this season, with Emery naming him as one of the five captains in the squad prior to Sunday’s game. But if Emery is the strict disciplinarian we are led to believe he is, then he needs to draw the best out of Ozil and not allow key games to pass him by like this one.

I actually think that Arsenal were on top by the time the second goal arrived. Pep Guardiola certainly looked relieved after Bernardo Silva’s strike rifled the roof of the net. And if Alexandre Lacazette would have hit the target with his effort moments before the second goal, who knows what may have happened. Again, though, Silva was given too much time in the penalty area, even though it was a slick move and finish. The same old problems of lapse marking coming into question once more.

Arsenal pressed again after the second goal and didn’t let their heads drop, but apart from a couple of offside goals, they didn’t really threaten. In the end, it was a comfortable win for City because of the same problems that have haunted this team for far too long.

That does not mean that there weren’t positives, however. The performance of Guendouzi was encouraging, even though a few mistakes were committed on his part. Apart from the goals, the defence looked reasonably organised and there was a lot of communication. And, finally, it was nice to see a manager on the touchline barking out orders.

So yes, there were issues with this performance. But there were also some good things to take from it. As Arsenal now prepare for Chelsea next weekend, I will be keen to see how Emery encourages the positive and addressed the traditional negatives. Change will take time. As fans, we must all be patient.