Arsenal 0-1 Man City: 4 talking points from Premier League defeat

Arsenal succumbed to an early onslaught from Manchester City as Raheem Sterling’s goal inside two minutes was all that separated the sides in Sunday’s Premier League clash.

All eyes were on Mikel Arteta’s lineup one hour before kick-off, even more so than usual given the midweek fixture just been and the one still to come. There were five changes in total, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard all keeping their places.

While weakened in the sense of the alterations, the side chosen was still stronger than anticipated. Yet you can’t help think it would have made little difference if the Under-23 side had played given how magnificent City were in the opening exchanges.

Their ‘front six’ constantly interchanged apart from Riyad Mahrez, who gave Kieran Tierney a torrid time down Arsenal’s left with relentless take-ons and one-on-one isolation. It was a schooling from the visitors who asserted their dominance from the first whistle.

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

Arsenal vs Man City: 4 talking points as Raheem Sterling seals 1-0 Premier League win

Raheem Sterling was inexcusably allowed to jump highest and head in the opener after just 72 seconds, and while City kept turning the screw Bernd Leno remained untroubled.

Bukayo Saka dropped deeper and Tierney began creating openings, but nothing was forthcoming before the break.

Seeing more of the ball than their opponents in the second half bore no fruit, as the Gunners didn’t test Ederson in goal and couldn’t get near Pep Guardiola’s side.

Here are the talking points.

Mistakes Cost Arsenal Once More

It was Sam Allardyce who said the vast majority of goals in football are either mistakes or set-pieces. He’s not wrong. You can’t simply magic away human error from football or it’d be an inherently boring spectacle.

That doesn’t mean Arsenal can’t stop shooting themselves in the foot.

Conceding early against City has become something of a routine. In their last six visits to the Emirates Stadium they’ve scored inside the opening 15 minutes, although today’s could have been so easily avoided. Allowing Sterling to rise highest – it was a fair leap, in fairness – in between a ball watching Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin scrambling in to cover was frustratingly poor.

City were in utter control of the first 15 minutes of the match, having Arsenal at sixes and sevens and keeping their foot on their opponents’ throat. Still, despite that, Leno remained untested.

After Arsenal weathered that storm they began to offer their own threats, the toughest period of the game wasn’t seen out due to slack marking. As with the Aston Villa match, although not against the same level of opposition, it’s a mistake that could easily have cost the Gunners a point and kept morale high.