Arsenal: Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira exposed but not responsible

There has been plenty of criticism for the performances of Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira in Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City. But while they were exposed in stark fashion, they were also not responsible for the unhinged midfield.

Kevin de Bruyne was the best player on the pitch when his Manchester City team dismantled Arsenal 3-0 last Sunday afternoon. Driving his team forward with brilliant goals, surging runs, on and off the ball, curling, long-distance efforts, and lung-busting drives, he was on a different level to every other player who simply tried to hang onto his coattails.

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The most humiliated of those by de Bruyne’s delightful brilliance was Matteo Guendouzi, who has come in for some serious flak after his lacklustre performance. The 20-year-old was largely chasing shadows throughout the first half and only settled into the match once City took their foot of the proverbial pedal after three rip-roaring goals and 45 dominant minutes.

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His midfield mate, Lucas Torreira, was equally bamboozled by City’s combination play. He offered a little more resistance, his ratty, ankle-snapping style awkward to play against as he launched into challenges, made timely interventions and interceptions, and stented some dangerous City attacks, but these moments were anomalies. For the most part, City had their way with the Arsenal midfield, which is becoming a rather painful and predictable theme for the Gunners’ season.

But while Torreira and Guendouzi were exploited by City on Sunday, they were not entirely responsible for their poor performances. In fact, while I would not go as far as to entirely absolve them of blame for their individual efforts, I would attribute a large portion of their struggles to the set-up around them. The responsibility lay elsewhere, not at the doorstep of Guendouzi and Torreira.

There were two key tactical areas where Arsenal were really poor against City, both relating to how they pressed the visitors — this, incidentally, will be of particular note for new head coach Mikel Arteta, who comes from Pep Guardiola’s incessant high-pressing system that demands cohesive and connected execution.

Firstly, the attacking players pressed very poorly. De Bruyne himself noted that the City players could control loose balls without much pressure and instigate attacks easily from deep. This led to Torreira and Guendouzi tracking runners off the ball without any pressure disrupting the initial pass. You can see where this is going to end.

Secondly, and more pertinently, the backline was scared to press high up the pitch, the speed and movement of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus pushing them deeper and deeper. This left gaping 30-yard, 40-yard spaces in midfield that Torreira and Guendouzi had to try to defend. Imagine, then, following the runs of de Bruyne over such large spaces with passes coming without being put under pressure. It is a recipe for disaster.

So yes, Torreira and Guendouzi were exploited by the City midfield. They were run ragged. But they are also not necessarily to blame. The pressure on the ball was nonexistent and the defence sat far too deep. Fix those issues and the central midfield’s job will get a whole lot easier. This, among many other things, is what Arteta must fix.