Manchester City suffered just their second home loss this season as Arsenal secured an impressive 2-0 victory at the Etihad on Sunday evening. A Santi Cazorla penalty and an Olivier Giroud header were the difference as The Gunners ended their away day jinx at the home of top teams. Here’s a look back at the key talking points from the match, as well as the positives, and the unwelcome negatives, to take from it…
Was it a penalty?
There was some form of controversy surrounding the penalty decision that gifted Arsenal the opening goal. Indeed, there was obvious contact when Kompany shuffled to his right towards Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal as the latter raced on to a loose ball, but the reaction of the Spaniard could be questioned, especially as the collision was so minimal. The initial claims by the Gunners players and fans left referee Mike Dean with no option but to point to the spot, but action replays suggested otherwise. I suppose it all comes down to the age old question: would it have been a foul anywhere else on the pitch? Probably. Therefore, Dean more than likely made the right call, but it will always be a debateable one. Time for video technology?
Did City miss Yaya Toure?
In the absence of AFCON-bound Yaya Toure, City had to opt for the unfamiliar partnership of Fernandinho and Fernando in the heart of the midfield. Both played relatively well, and certainly put in an effort, but they couldn’t quite live up to the Ivorian’s power, speed and technical ability to find that killer pass. Fernando was certainly at fault for Arsenal’s second goal, as Giroud span away from him to crucially head home against the run of play, and Fernandinho struggled to find his rhythm, although he did make some impressive challenges to prevent Arsenal attacks. It could be questioned whether Toure’s presence would have changed the result, but we certainly could have done with him there to help feed Aguero, who had a frustrating afternoon in front of goal, as well as leading the midfield, which many a time got outmuscled and out-skilled by Arsenal’s pacey front players in the form of Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Toure is certainly a huge miss at this important stage of the season, but we should have the back-up to cope without him.
Should City really sell Jovetic?
You should never believe paper talk, but the gossip in the media these past few weeks is all about Stevan Jovetic potentially leaving us. Agreed, he hasn’t quite paid back the £22 million we spent on him in July 2013, but his form has been damaged by constant injuries preventing him to play in a run of games. Maybe it was this speculation surrounding him that saw Stevan play very well in the second half against Arsenal, as his appearance somewhat rejuvenated a lacklustre City front line, and gave the Gunners’ defenders something to think about with his creativity, athleticism and trickery. His effort did not reflect the score-line, but it should certainly be taken into consideration by Pellegrini as the manager reflects on his options up front after the signing of Wilfried Bony. On today’s evidence, Jovetic should certainly not be let go. But only time will tell.
Is time up for Dzeko?
Having become a fans’ favourite at City, Edin Dzeko is a player you just cannot dislike. He’s netted many crucial goals for The Blues in recent seasons since signing from Wolfsburg, and he possesses a great talent of holding up the ball before setting team-mates away. But this season he has very much divided opinion among the Etihad crowd, and he has become somewhat of a ‘Marmite’ kind of player; you either love him, or you don’t. (Hate is a strong word). He made a cameo appearance against the Gunners on Sunday, but he really did not do an awful lot. Of course, this is purely down to his poor lack of service, which was a constant problem all afternoon, but you only need to look at his previous performances this season to see that time may well be up for the big Bosnian, albeit having been hampered by injury for a large part of it. He has made 12 appearances so far this term, but has scored just twice, supplying only the one assist. His showing against Arsenal pretty much sums up his form so far, but we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for Edin. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
What went wrong?
The strange thing about the defeat was that City played the way they normally play, but found that Arsenal had them sussed out right from the very start. The Gunners’ previous away problem was that they tried to dominate the game and keep possession for large parts of it; thereby leaving space in behind, but they played more defensive-minded today, allowing City time on the ball, but therefore preventing us from getting beyond a resilient back line. We simply could not break down their defence, and this showed in the stats; we failed to have one shot on target in the first period. We upped our game in the second half, and began to create more chances, but they were few and far between, and didn’t really trouble goalkeeper David Ospina.
A real issue for City was that they dominated possession for the most part, but failed to do anything with it. Passes were either backwards or sideways; and hopeful balls over the top failed to catch out a determined Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in the heart of the Arsenal defence. Despite claiming 70% of the possession during the first half, we just didn’t take advantage of this, and failed to make amends when Arsenal took the lead, most notably with a lack of pace to our game which is usually always there…
Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero are two of our most important players, but were extremely delicate today, having just returned from lengthy spells on the side lines. Their rusty performances highlighted this, and this certainly wouldn’t have helped City out as they looked to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. It is only a matter of time before they play like their former selves; they just need a little time to become match-fit once again.
Another significant problem for us today was a lack of quality in delivery and service, particularly from corners. We recorded a total of 14 corners against Arsene Wenger’s men, but did not take advantage of any of them. Most of the time the ball failed to beat the first man, allowing Arsenal to clear comfortably; the corner was too deep, and prevented any serious attack on the defence, or David Ospina was able to happily catch or punch the ball to safety. Whatever the issue, working on corner’s should certainly be one of City’s main priorities, as they simply did not take advantage of the height and power that they possess that could have potentially caused Arsenal problems from that position today.
Are there any positives to take from today’s game?
Surprisingly, yes. The defeat does not assist our title credentials, but they are by no means over, either. City trail Chelsea by just five points, and given that they let slip an eight-point lead earlier in the season, this looks like more of a manageable target than before. City also have the saving grace of playing Mourinho’s team on January 31st when we travel to West London, and a win there will close the gap further and make the fight for the title all the more interesting as the season enters its latter stages.
City are also boosted by the return of some of their key players, with the previously full injury list now starting to free up. Although not making an impact against Arsenal, top scorer Sergio Aguero returns to help City in their pursuit of Chelsea, and Vincent Kompany’s timely re-implication will help lead the defence and captain the team in an orderly manner.
Despite conceding, the second-half was a much better performance from City today. They demonstrated more intensity in their play and began to have more attempts on goal, and this was mostly fuelled by the substitute Stevan Jovetic, who added some much needed pace to the passing and attack. We still need to be realistic; the performance was still very much below par from what we would normally expect from City, but it is reassuring to know that they did try to cause Arsenal problems during that second period, which is something that couldn’t be said about the lacklustre first half.
City play Championship side Middlesbrough in their next encounter on Saturday 24th January as the FA Cup once again makes a re-appearance. A break from league duty could well benefit Pellegrini’s men, before the huge game against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
