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

Arsenal succumbed to a disappointing 4-1 defeat away at the Etihad as Manchester City effectively ended the Gunners’ Premier League title dream. 

Arsenal conceded yet another early goal at the hands of Kevin De Bruyne in what was a very shaky start by the visitors. John Stones’ header just before halftime doubled the home side’s lead and was more than deserved and made the comeback almost impossible.

The result, and even more so the performance, were both disappointing, but there were still positives to take away from the match.

3 positives and negatives from the 4-1 defeat against Manchester City

Positive #1: Aaron Ramsdale’s heroics

While there have been suggestions that Ramsdale should have done better for at least one of City’s goals, there is no denying the fact that without him, we could have been four goals down before half-time.

One stop, in particular, comes to mind – with Erling Haaland bearing down on the goal, and having just beat two defenders with an incredible piece of skill inside the box, Ramsdale made an excellent save from close range to deny the Norwegian. Had that chance been converted, the scoreline could have been far worse and given even more encouragement to a rampaging Manchester City.

Ramsdale is one of the few players who can wholeheartedly say he gave his best in this game.

Negative #1: Title hopes surely over

The most obvious negative from this match is the implication the result has on our title hopes. We are now just two points ahead of our rivals, but given they have two games in hand and are currently in incredible form, we now need a miracle in order to be lifting the Premier League trophy come the end of the season.

In truth, it was the results against West Ham United and Southampton tave caused this situation to arise, but this defeat was the metaphorical dagger to an already weakened heart.

After the match, the City players were humble and insisted the title race is far from over, but this result definitely feels as though it will be looked back upon as the definitive moment in the title race in a month’s time.

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Positive #2: Avoided capitulation

This may seem obsolete given the final scoreline, but in years gone by,this game would likelyd have ended in a five or even six-nil thrashing. It is a testament to the mental strength of this young team that they were able to prevent a complete capitulation.

With City playing arguably the best football they have played all season, a comeback was never likely, and it would have been easy for the players to just give up. The Sky Blues continued to dominate and outclassed us on the night, but the team did everything they could to keep the scoreline as respectable as possible.

That mentality is going to be vital for the remainder of the season, and Ramsdale is confident the team will continue to fight.

"“We haven’t played nine months of Premier League football to be in this position to moan or give up – we’re not going to do that. If something is going to happen, it’s going to be in our league, so, we’ve got to be there to pounce if anything happens.”"

Negative #2: The midfield

Throughout this campaign, our midfield players have been lauded, and rightly so as they have been fantastic all season. However, last night, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard all failed to make any impact on the game whatsoever.

City found it too easy to deal with the trio, and even more frustratingly, found it far too easy to play through them. Partey failed to protect the back four, Xhaka couldn’t progress the ball effectively and Odegaard struggled to keep possession. As a collective, we failed to impose ourselves at either end of the pitch, and when that is the case, the midfield must be scrutinised.

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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.