3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City

Arsenal fell out of the FA Cup on Friday night after a slender defeat to Manchester City.

In what is always a tough match at the Etihad, Arsenal played their competition well with a heavily rotated team.

3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City

Some good and bad to take from the match, so let’s get into it.

Positive #1: Played well despite the result

Arsenal might have lost the match, but there’s a lot to be happy about. City played a very strong XI on Friday night, while Mikel Arteta rotated his side heavily from the 3-2 victory over Man Utd.

Despite the changes, Arsenal played well, especially in the first half, where good opportunities were created with the Gunners threatening to go ahead in the match. Overall, this was a very good litmus test for the team: away to Man City without their most potent lineup, and the team played well, didn’t get embarrassed, and can feel very confident going into the two showdowns with the Cityzens coming up in the league.

Negative #1: Sambi Lokonga

This sucks to write, but Sambi just hasn’t been up to it. He came on at half-time, and the drop-off was evident out of possession.

His ability on the ball was excellent in the match, something that has never been a problem for him. However, off the ball, the Belgian lets himself down massively and he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory as Nathan Ake opened the scoring.

It’s very frustrating as someone who’s been an ardent supporter of Sambi that his progression has stalled somewhat. I still think he could have a future at the club, but a loan could be best for the Belgian international, especially with Arsenal in the transfer market for a number six.

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