Match Report: Manchester City 0-2 Arsenal
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Venue: The Etihad stadium
Final score: Manchester City 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal’s failure to beat the big teams in the division away from home has been well documented, but the gunners bucked the trend at the Etihad and put a massive dent in Manchester City’s title hopes with an impressive 2-0 victory. It was an important victory too as it lifted Arsenal to within a point of Manchester United in fourth and kept the race for the automatic Champions league spot alive.
This is my third match report for Arsenal first; the first two were good victories. I must admit before the game I was prepared to discuss a defeat, it is something that has become so increasingly inevitable over the years that we go to a big team and try and outplay them and ultimately lose the match. This time I was pleasantly surprised. From the get go it was clear that we were looking to adopt more of a defensive system to try and counteract the game that City were looking to play. We sat back with two banks of four and Coquelin in the middle trying to break up play and start counter attacks, with the pace we possess in forward areas it was always likely to be a useful tactic to deploy. To play in this manner though it required the whole team to put in shifts and work hard not only offensively but defensively and they did this brilliantly. Credit also has to go to Arsene Wenger whose tactical shrewdness was enough to win the day for the gunners and put them in a strong position going into their next set of fixtures.
The first 20 minutes were dull to say the least with Manchester City dominating the ball but to no effect. Due to Arsenal being so well set up defensively they made it hard for city to break them down and the best chance of the game fell to the visitors in around the 20th minute. Oxlade-Chamberlain was found on the break and he skipped away from the challenge of Gael Clichy before firing in a low cross which Olivier Giroud headed over. The chance served notice of Arsenal’s offensive intentions and they again hit City on the counter attack shortly after and won themselves a penalty. Monreal played a one two with Giroud on the edge of the penalty area before the Spaniard was brought down by Kompany’s outstretched leg. Although Monreal went down easily and City had complaints, I don’t think you can argue with the way in which Kompany blocked off Monreal and he had a right to go down and earn his side a penalty. Having scored his last 3 spot kicks Santi Cazorla never looked likely to miss and he put the gunners 1 up.
For the remainder of the half Arsenal packed men behind the ball and stifled any creativity that City had to offer. Coquelin was always tight to David Silva and Koscielny was keeping Aguero quiet throughout the half, this served as an early reminder for how Arsenal were going to go about their business on the day. Pellegrini replaced the poor James Milner with Stevan Jovetic at half time in an attempt to force a way through the Arsenal rear guard that had been so impressive up to this point. This worked for about 10 minutes. There was a degree of impetus shown by Pellegrini’s men after the break and they came close a couple of times, Jesus Navas had a shot parried by Ospina and soon after he fizzed a cross into the box but Laurent Koscileny made a crucial touch that diverted it wide. After this though, the game followed a similar pattern to that of the first half, City dominating the ball and possession stats but never threatening the Arsenal goal. The gunners looked the more dangerous with the pace and power of Alexis Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain on the break. Their defensive solidarity was rewarded just past the hour mark when Cazorla’s free kick was met by Olivier Giroud who had escaped the clutches of Fernando to head home and give Arsenal a 2-0 lead away from home. As they did after the first Arsenal goal City rallied, but couldn’t find a way back into the game. Arsenal then had several chances to make it three, substitutes Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky exchanged passes before Flamini’s cross was blocked by Kompany. It didn’t matter in the end though as Arsenal held on to win at City for the first time since 2010.
Player Ratings: Ospina-7, Bellerin-7, Mertesacker-7.5, Koscielny-8, Monreal-7.5, Coquelin-8, Oxlade-Chamberlain-7, Cazorla-9, Sanchez-7.5, Giroud-7.5
Santi Cazorla was for me the MOTM. He’s not usually known for his defensive capabilities but I think he’s been influenced hugely by the arrival of Alexis Sanchez. His tireless performances have been an inspiration to others including Santi and he was brilliant in that aspect today. Going forward too he was majestic. He was involved in everything good the gunners did on the counter-attack and produced many moments of magical footwork to get himself out of trouble. Honourable mentions though go to Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny who I thought were absolutely brilliant as well. For Coquelin to come back on loan from a championship club like Charlton and do so well for a top four side is a credit not only to the man himself but Wenger. He needed midfield cover and that was meant to be all he was, but he’s come in and made the defensive midfield role his own. If he can perform as good as today week in, week out then we may have solved a big issue in our squad. Koscielny on the other hand for ages now has been rightly recognised as our best CB, having him fit is a blessing and today he was brilliant. He never let Aguero in particular get any space and oozed class in everything that he did. Let’s hope that now we have a good set of fixtures coming up we can make our way up the table and go on a run.
