Arsenal to leave the Etihad with dignity intact
Manchester City have the chance to condemn Arsenal to a third consecutive Premier League and potentially to the bottom of the table. The Gunners have lost their opening two encounters 2-0 to Brentford and Chelsea respectively, while City were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham Hotspur on matchday one and made amends with a 5-0 win over newly promoted Norwich City the day before. Pep Guardiola will be aiming to retain the Premier League title for the second time at City this season and with Chelsea and Liverpool looking back to their best they will need to get a run going to make up for the three points dropped on the opening weekend.
Background
Arsenal were second best all over the pitch against the Blues with Emile Smith Rowe one of the only players to take credit from the performance. It has been a tricky time since Mikel Arteta arrived at the helm in North London, the FA Cup and Community Shield victories feel a very distant memory with the gloves off in the stands for the Spaniard after an eighth placed finish in 2020/21.
Jack Grealish got off the mark for City last time out, a fortunate goal but getting the first one out the way can lift a weight off a player’s shoulders. Arteta needs to get some credit in the bank in one match soon or this situation will spiral out of control and he will find himself out of a job before Christmas.
It has been a very disappointing few years since the departure of Arsene Wenger, with the club now outside of any European competition for the second consecutive season the Gunners are desperately losing their identity. Spending over £30 million on a backup goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale is not going to address that.
This is possibly the shortest any team will be going up against Arsenal this season, yet it still feels justified and in my opinion presents a touch of value. The fading talent of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seems to be the Gunners only hope with so much reliance on Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, who are precocious talents but cannot be expected to develop into the standard of player they need to drag them towards the top six. Martin Odegaard is a good addition, but once again, it is unfair to pin your hopes of European football on a player that youthful.
City all day long here, pragmatic Arteta will be wary of a hiding and therefore will try to keep things tight.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Arsenal did not have the resolve to keep it respectable. 5-0 City.