Pep Guardiola’s pre-season comes to an end and Manchester City don’t look ready, but without trying to sound like the most pessimistic fan, there’s plenty of positives to take.
The result is an irrelevance but with the opening game coming as soon as next week, there’s plenty of work still to be done. The makeshift defence was frail and offered Arsenal easy goals and chances, not to mention the fact that some of the players are still looking uncomfortable playing in Pep’s system.
In preparation for the Premier League, Arsenal and City met in Gothenburg for their final friendlies. Like the rest of City’s pre-season matches, it was intense and the focus for City was very much on aggressive pressing.
The players seem to have taken to this off-the-ball tempo and countless times the Sky Blues hounded Arsenal in midfield and won possession high up the field. On the half hour mark, it paid off through a Sergio Aguero strike. Sterling’s inviting cross from the right was met by the Argentine, leaving Petr Cech with no chance.
Arsenal made three changes at half-time and City just swapped out the keeper, giving Hart his first taste of action since the Euros.
Nigerian wonder-kid, Alex Iwobi, was the spearhead of a lightning counter-attack just five minutes after the break. Cutting inside onto his favourite right-foot and curling the ball into the bottom corner.
After that, City made a whole six changes; Kevin de Bruyne and Bacary Sagna re-joined the action.
Not long after a flurry of substitutes did Theo Walcott finish off a well-worked one-two to complete the turnaround. Kolarov failed to track the Englishman’s run and was punished when Walcott dinked it over Hart in the 73rd minute.
Chuba Akpom made it three for the Gunners when he capitalised on a series of mistakes from the City back line. Tosin Adarabioyo’s misplaced pass was pounced on by Santi Cazorla and Hart’s weak attempt to smother the ball gifted Akpom an easy finish for 3-1.
Kelechi Iheanacho came from off the bench to score his first goal of pre-season, heading in a brilliant Jesus Navas cross to round off the five-goal thriller. Navas and Yaya Toure both had chances late on to equalise but failed to convert.
Before full-time, Arsenal suffered more injury drama when Gabriel was forced off on a stretcher with an ankle problem after a tussle with City striker Iheanacho that saw the Brazilian get his studs caught in the floor.
Team Line-ups
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Monreal, Xhaka, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Iwobi, Sanchez.
Substitutes: Chambers (Holding 46′), Walcott (Oxlade-Chamberlain 46′), Elneny (Xhaka 46′), Cazorla (Ramsey 65′), Campbell (Iwobi 69′), Debuchy (Bellerin 77′), Gibbs (Monreal 77′), Akpom (Sanchez 81′), Bielik (Gabriel 98′).
Manchester City: Caballero, Zabaleta, Fernando, Kolarov, Clichy, Fernandinho, Delph, Silva, Nolito, Sterling, Aguero.
Substitutes: Hart (Caballero 46′), De Bruyne (Silva 65′), Navas (Nolito 65′), Adarabioyo (Fernando 65′), Sagna (Zabaleta 65′), Iheanacho (Aguero 67′), Toure (Delph 67′), Garcia (Fernandinho 80′), Angelino (Clichy 81′), Zinchenko (Sterling 82′).
