Arsenal Vs Manchester City: This wasn’t the defence’s fault

Arsenal lost to Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday in predictable and recognisable fashion. But this time, it wasn’t the defence’s fault. It was their play in possession that was to blame.

Usually when Arsenal get ripped to shreds by a superior Premier League opponent, it is because of the openness of their shape, the naivety of their positioning, the blistering pace of their opponent’s counter-attacks, the exposure of their backline and the ineptness of their defending. But on this occasion, a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the season, it is not their defensive shape, structure and performance that is to blame.

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Unai Emery was clearly insistent on the organisation that he wanted from his team. Two, very narrow banks of four, with Aaron Ramsey pushed into a more advanced position alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to press the City defence. For the most part, it was a successful ploy.

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Emery’s intention, ostensibly, was to congest the middle of the pitch and starve the space and service into the feet of Sergio Aguero. That element of the plan worked. How many chances did Aguero get to spin in the box and get a shot off on goal? The problem was that is ceded space in the wide areas, space that the speed, directness and skill of Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling exploited wonderfully — both goals came from these positions: Sterling cutting inside on his right foot from the left-flank; Benjamin Mendy bombing on the overlap in the midst of a beautifully worked move.

But even in these situations, City’s best chances, bar a Sterling angled shot that was well saved by Petr Cech, came either from Arsenal individual mistakes — Matteo Guendouzi missing the ball, allowing Aguero a one-on-one — or set-pieces — Mahrez’s freekick and Aymeric Laporte’s subsequent follow-up, both of which were brilliantly repelled by Cech. Arsenal’s defending was not the problem here.

Instead, their issues stemmed from their play in possession. A lack of ability in the midfield and defensive areas meant that playing through the City high press was hard work, meaning that the game was predominantly played deep in the Gunners’ half. And then, when they were able to work their way into advanced positions, loose, wayward and erratic play consistently led to them wasting good chances and committing turnovers, allowing City to counter quickly.

Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the three players who were positioned behind Aubameyang, were all to blame for poor first touches or misguided passes or wasteful decision making. Their influence on the game was small and City were able to push high up the pitch because of their lack of pace, diminishing the threat of a longer, lofted pass in behind the high line.

There was also the tentative, unconvincing play of Petr Cech and the Arsenal defence in possession deep in their own territory. Granit Xhaka, for instance, was largely anonymous, failing to show for the ball and receive it in the midfield, turning and then playing his team into more forward-thinking positions of the pitch. Similarly, none of the full backs were able to offer an outlet in the wide channels, and Cech, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis were largely left with few options other than to pass backwards or square before eventually hoofing the ball up the pitch to a stranded and isolated Aubameyang.

There were defensive errors committed. Of course there were. But the pattern of the match that did for Arsenal was not because of their defending; it was because they couldn’t play through the pitch, keeping the ball in good areas of the pitch, and then being clinical when chances did come their way in the final third. It was their play in possession, not out of it, that is to blame.