Arsenal: 4 talking points from Man City disasterclass

As far as defeats go, the 5-0 hammering at the hands of Manchester City was both cringeworthy and humiliating. A double from Ferran Torres along with strikes from IIkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus, and Rodri put a horrid Arsenal side to the sword.

A rather bright opening five minutes from Mikel Arteta’s side at the Etihad had hopes raised but City quickly took control as they utterly demolished a sorry travelling party. What compounded matters was Granit Xhaka’s red card in the 35th minute after what can only be described as a reckless challenge, heaping further misery on the visitors.

City dominated the game as many expected being a man to the good, but it was the way Arsenal lacked any fight or determination to try and claw their way back to hurt deepest. Almost entirely surrendering as City enforced their will on the Gunners, they headed to the sheds 3-0 up at half-time with the game done and dusted.

The second half was just demoralizing for Arsenal. They sat back in two low-blocks to try and limit the damage, none of which worked as City scored two more goals to make the margin embarrassing and rip away any modicum of confidence the Gunners may have had.

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Arsenal: 4 talking points from Man City disasterclass as Mikel Arteta oversees worst start to a season in the club’s history after 5-0 defeat

To say the loss was horrible would be an understatement, but when looking at the stats the true reflection of the game comes to light: City had 25 shots to Arsenal’s one (which came in the first five minutes) and had 81% possession to Arsenal’s 19%. An utter demolition. Arsenal are a club in serious crisis.

Here are the talking points from the loss to Manchester City.

1. Mikel Arteta’s Tactics are Beyond Questionable

Something many knew already, right?

Sticking with a back three, which the midweek game away to West Brom ended up looking like for the most part, Arsenal appeared to be in good shape early on. But once the first goal went in, the Gunners simply faded away.

Arteta looked bereft of ideas on how to get his side back into the game. The midfield was left manned by a single Xhaka, the press was frail and the expansive shape made the visitors simple to play through.

He did not make any changes at half-time to the system or shape to try and get something going. It was damage limitation.

Some will point out the lack of Arsenal’s spine with Gabriel, White, and Thomas Partey missing, however, even with those three playing the style and system employed by Arteta would have possibly yielded the same result: an exposed midfield and disorganised structure would’ve remained in tact.

Watching on the touchline he looked like a broken man as his side were utterly manhandled by one of the best teams in world football. There was no real willingness to change things up for his side and once again many Arsenal fans are wondering if he is the right man for the job.