Arsenal 1-2 Man City: 4 talking points from heartbreaking defeat

A gallant Arsenal side has gone down 2-1 to Manchester City at the Emirates. After Bukayo Saka put the Gunners ahead in the first, all seemed well for the north London side. However, a second-half penalty from Riyad Mahrez and an injury-time winner from Rodri secured three vital Premier League points for Pep Guardiola’s men.

Mikel Arteta named a virtually unchanged lineup from the side that demolished Norwich 5-0 last time out. Rob Holding was the only change, coming out for Takehiro Tomiyasu who recovered from Covid in time to feature.

The first half was perhaps Arsenal’s best half in the last three or four years. It had everything that fans wanted to see from the team: energy, determination, defensively solidarity, and most importantly, a goal.

Bukayo Saka’s strike capped off a sweeping move that involved Kieran Tierney sliding in an inviting ball for the 20-year-old, who hit his shot first time and past Ederson to give the Gunners the lead just past the half-hour mark.

Arsenal 1-2 Man City: 4 talking points from heartbreaking defeat as Rodri snatches Premier League win for Guardiola’s side in injury time

It was an outstanding first half showing from the home side as they caused all sorts of problems for Pep Guardiola’s side as they headed into the sheds a goal to the good.

The second half was rife with controversy. Granit Xhaka was adjudged to have brought down Bernardo Silva in the area and after a VAR check, referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. Riyad Mahrez stepped up and slotted home.

Arsenal was then down to ten men after Gabriel was sent off after collecting his second yellow in as many minutes. It was an uphill battle from there as City dominated possession and their dominance told with just minutes remaining as Rodri poked home from close range to give City a vital win.

The first game of 2022 provided plenty of talking points.

1. VAR Again Causes Controversy

Say what you want about VAR but at the Emirates, it was again a huge talking point coming out of a match.

Martin Odegaard had his shout for a penalty turned down early in the first half with no sign of Stuart Attwell going to the monitor for what was a close call. It could have gone either way with the Emirates crowd in full voice.

However, in the second half when Granit Xhaka brought down Bernardo Silva, Attwell was then instructed to go to the screen. These days when that occurs it’s a foregone conclusion. Referees don’t stick to their on-field decisions anymore.

This left many scratching their heads as to why he did not do that for Odegaard’s incident. Whether Xhaka’s foul was a penalty will be debated until the early hours, but it is again a game where many feel VAR left a lot to be desired.

The case is there for both being penalties in similarly low contact situations, but the total lack of consistency in how the technology is applied continues to baffle.

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