3 positives & negatives from 4-1 defeat against Manchester City

Positive #3: Reiss Nelson

The majority of our substitutes performed reasonably well when they were introduced, and Nelson was the pick of the bunch. He was lively, intense and constantly looked like he might make something happen – which is more than you could say about almost every other player.

One moment in particular, in which the winger twisted his way through three City players and slid the ball wide into Eddie Nketiah’s path showcased what Nelson has to offer.

With our form dwindling, Arteta should look to change things up, and in my opinion, Nelson is more than deserving of a starting place in the squad at this current moment in time.

Negative #3: Another early goal conceded

There were plenty of negatives from this game, but us conceding another early goal was perhaps the most frustrating. Coming into this match, the players knew that Pep Guardiola’s side were in exceptional form and I am sure Arteta would have stressed to the team the importance of being defensively solid in the early stages.

Unfortunately, we were unable to do so and an early goal allowed City to grow in confidence and apply even more pressure than they might have expected. Securing the win in this match was always going to be a tall order, but going a goal down so early on in the game made that task exponentially more difficult.