This is what happens when you don’t beat the midtable teams, Gunners. Manchester City have slapped aside Arsenal as they beat them 3-1 and have retaken the lead in the Premier League title race.
When you don’t beat the teams that you should, you always get chased down and overtaken in a title race. Always.
It’s happened year after year to dozens of would-be title challengers, and it seems like Arsenal are just the latest victims of this. After two straight weekends of failing to beat the likes of Everton (1-0 loss for Arsenal) and Brentford (1-1 draw), Arsenal’s lead atop the league was dwindled down to three points just in time for the highly anticipated 1st vs. 2nd matchup between Arsenal and Man City.
Perfect timing, right Gunners fans?
And, just as Arsenal have been these last two weeks, they showed up to this Man City game lethargic, unfocused, and just painfully flat. Sure, Arsenal actually dominated possession as they finished the game with 64% of the ball to Man City’s 36% (a season low for the Citizens), and they also had more shots (10 vs. 9), more passes (524 vs. 303), and a better passing accuracy (83% vs. 72%). So, in other words, they “Man Cityed” Man City.
Yet, as Pep Guardiola knows better than anyone, the best way to defeat a Man City-like team is to be dogged defensively and blistering fast on the counterattack…which Man City was in abundance.
When I said that Arsenal had more shots than City, that’s kind of a half-truth.
The Gunners did take more shots (as the 10-9 stat shows), but they were obliterated by City in the shots on target stat line as City finished with 6 shots on Aaron Ramsdale’s net to Arsenal’s 1 one Ederson’s goal. And that was an iffy Bukayo Saka penalty conversion (What was Ederson supposed to do in that situation? Evaporate?), so the Gunners didn’t have an actual shot on target for the entire 90 minutes of the game.
City just bullied Arsenal off the park (City had 15 fouls and 4 Yellow Cards) and then destroyed them with unstoppable counterattacks, which was how the second City goal was scored, led by Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Ilkay Gundogan, and Phil Foden.
Now, I will say that Arsenal had some huge chances, such as the three that fell to Eddie Nketiah, that could have been on target (at the very least) any other day, but these are the kinds of margins and “could-be’s” that decide title races. That, and competent defenses.
I mean every word when I say Arsenal’s defense was dreadfully, sickeningly, and shockingly woeful against a City side that made it’s gameplan very clear from the first minute. I mean, when City is allowing you to have the ball, you’ve got to realize they’re going to pounce at the slightest of possession errors you make.
And, aside from William Saliba, everyone on that backline made a howling error that led to “A+” Man City chances and goals.
Takehiro Tomiyasu undersold a backpass to Ramsdale that allowed Kevin De Bruyne to get in behind and chip the keeper for a 1-0 City lead, Oleksandr Zinchenko was either trying to deke out himself or the City players (I don’t know what in the world he was thinking) by allowing ERLING HAALAND (of all people) to take the ball from him in his own penalty box and get a shot off with the game tied 1-1, and Gabriel did just about everything wrong.
He not only caused a penalty by taking down Haaland (he was lucky that Haaland was actually offsides and it was called off) with the game still tied, but he also was caught out of position TWICE that led to Jack Grealish’s game-winning strike in 70th minute and Haaland’s hammer-blow in the 83rd minute to make the game 3-1 for City.
This was easily the worst game I’ve ever seen Gabriel play in his Arsenal career, which has me doubting if he can actually help the Gunners win a Premier League. He’s obviously a good player, but he has a mistake in him in every game he plays that has often been nullified by his centerback partner, WIlliam Saliba. But not today, clearly.
Truthfully, I think the title race is going to be decided in the next two weeks.
If Arsenal drops anymore points to Aston Villa (Feb. 18th), Leicester City (Feb. 25th), Everton (March 1st), or Bournemouth (March 4th), the title race for them is over.
Given how Man City can go on 20-game winning streaks like it’s nothing (and they are extra motivated now that the Premier League has charged them with all of those financial breaches), the Gunners essentially have to win their next 15 games to keep up with City.
Yes, the two are now level on points (51) and City have a better GD, but Arsenal still has a game in hand over City that would push them ahead if they either draw or win it. But, those 15 games include trips to the Etihad (Man City), Anfield (Liverpool), St. James Park (Newcastle), and a home match against Chelsea. Not easy.
As for City, the title is now firmly in their sights. They’re extremely lucky this Arsenal team has collapsed these past two weeks, but no one is going to remember that if they go on a 15-game winning streak to close out the season as they’ve done in past campaigns.
The only thing people will remember is how City won their third straight Premier League title, which was last achieved by Man United in the 2006/07-2008/09 seasons, in the face of a resurgent Arsenal and massive financial charges levied on them by the Premier League itself.
The Premier League title is truly up in the air for both contenders to take it for the first time this season.
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