Johnny Baguette
Alert Team
As predicted by the Pedmachine, it was to be never a dull moment at the Emirates today when Arsenal and City faced up for a key match for both teams.
It started with another magical mystery team selection by Guardiola preferring to leave his first and second choice right backs out of action, and his first-choice replacement returned to midfield. He actually selected Navas…yes Navas at right back.
The rest of the starting eleven was predictable with Caballero guarding the pipes, Stones Otamendi and Clichy along the back. Fernandinho was ahead with De Bruyne and Silva. Sterling Aguero and Sane providing the forward power.
The Gooners soon fastened on to the fact that there was hay to be made down City's right, especially with Sanchez occupying that berth and it was little surprise that after two supposed tackles where Navas threw himself in with no prospect of claiming the ball, out came the referees notebook and accompanying yellow card, giving Guardiola something to think about right at the beginning.
But in their first real thrust, after five minutes, the Blues did something that has been missing in recent performances. They scored with their first attack. Silva challenged for the ball in the middle and moved it to de Bruyne who spotted Sane's run. The German ran Bellerin ragged and skipped inside to drill the ball past Ospina.
In the next attack, City once again shredded the Arsenal defence and de Bruyne was unlucky to see his strike hit the post with Ospina beaten, but he sprang up to save Silva's shot from the rebound.
The Blues looked to becoming unplayable for the first ten or fifteen minutes and it took Arsenal a while to establish themselves in the game. For the middle third of the first half not too much happened. City failed to take their early domination to the next level and Arsenal didn't look to be in sync. Sanchez was toiling away for them without any real support but with the first half drawing to a close an innocuous looking ball into the City box was only half headed away by Otamendi. Clichy was too slow to get out and the return ball into the box found Walcott who hitherto had done nothing. Just about the only thing he does all season is score against City and despite the indeterminate attention of Clichy, he managed to toe poke the ball into the City net for an undeserved equaliser.
The question now was whether City, who had withdrawn themselves into an untidy slumber could get back on top. Within 30 seconds of the restart they had once again hit the post and a minute later up stepped Sergio Aguero to score a trade mark goal from a position wide of the far right hand post, slotting it home just inside the left hand post. City's lead was restored and deservedly so. Again de Bruyne was involved. His one-two with Sterling didn't really come off but the ball ended up with Silva who slid in a wonderful pass for Aguero to score.
It was obvious that all City's problems in the first half, Clichy apart, arrived down the right, but Guardiola seemed reluctant to address the problem at half-time. Yaya was needed to add some solidity, but it was Sterling who was taken off. Instead of projecting Navas forward, he remained at full back with Yaya playing alongside Fernandinho.
The Blues looked initially as if they were going to go for it but with an early second half goal not forthcoming, Arsenal were allowed to get back in it. After 50 minutes, a corner on City's right, conceded as another result of the unusual configuration down that channel. Mustafi came from a long way out, undetected by Yaya or anyone in the back four, to head home easily to level the scores, giving Caballero no chance.
City tried to make lightning strike twice but it never looked like happening and in many ways it was their own fault they didn't capitalise on the Saturday results. Sane too often stepped offside and brought promising situations to a halt, Arsenal didn't do too much in attack either as the game flourished in midfield with a number of players on both sides taking one for the team as the yellow cards were waved at will by the referee Andre Marriner.
Wenger tried to change things introducing Giroud, another with a good scoring record against City, and then Iwobi, but neither made an impact. City didn't really replace anyone until the last five minutes when Pep's penny dropped and on came Zabaleta to make the right hand side secure for the remainder of the match.
By then both teams had pretty much settled for a draw. Disappointing from a City team who looked as if they could outpace Arsenal, but Arsenal would have had the same thoughts. In the end neither team could get the job done and what was expected to be an exhiliarating match turned into a bit of a damp squib.
City could and should have won this fixture but lacked intensity, lacked the desire to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Their frailties in defence were exposed time and again and I felt sorry for Navas, asked to do an impossible job in having to subdue one of the best footballers in the Barclays Premier League in Sanchez.
That said, two minutes into stoppage time, an easy handball in front of the linesman by Monreal was ignored and the Blues couldn't even get any external help.
Some of City's passing today was not good. Yaya in the second half, de Bruyne and Fernandinho were all guilty and time and again City's better-looking moves were undone by untidiness and at times their inability to string together sufficient passes to carve Arsenal open proved a major undoing.
In fairness City simply failed here to take advantage of many situations. The uncertainty surrounding Arsene Wenger's future has clearly affected Arsenal as teams have recently cashed in upon them. When it was needed they didn't have the courage to press on and get the win. Sterling's withdrawal took away one of City's edges as they looked off balance in the second half and there was a lack of pure pace down the right once he was gone.
In accepting a draw today they signalled Chelsea's route to winning the title at a time when they could have really put pressure on them bearing in mind the match coming up on Wednesday.
But not only Chelsea will have benefited from this City performance. Tottenham and Liverpool will have seen their top four aspirations cemented a little as their wins yesterday now look to have received a bonus. Liverpool in particular put in a strong performance against local rivals Everton. They too suffered an unexpected equaliser but exposed the poor team selection by Koeman, kept their composure and to the sheer ecstasy of dear Sue took the "Blue Noses" apart. She wasn't hiding under the bed for long once the third Liverpool goal went in.
That is what City needed today. To keep composed and press ahead for the win but sadly it didn't happen. I though Sergio Aguero was brilliant today. He grafted with and without the ball, closed down and tackled in midfield and his movement around the box was always a problem for the Gooners. It was a collective desire to win today that looked to be absent but it wasn't assisted by the mesmerising team selection by Guardiola and the tactical solution he thought was needed by taking off Sterling.
The Blues will stay in the capital to await their visit to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea. I shudder to think at what kind of line-up Pep has in mind.
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=579787#ixzz4d7NQikhb
It started with another magical mystery team selection by Guardiola preferring to leave his first and second choice right backs out of action, and his first-choice replacement returned to midfield. He actually selected Navas…yes Navas at right back.
The rest of the starting eleven was predictable with Caballero guarding the pipes, Stones Otamendi and Clichy along the back. Fernandinho was ahead with De Bruyne and Silva. Sterling Aguero and Sane providing the forward power.
The Gooners soon fastened on to the fact that there was hay to be made down City's right, especially with Sanchez occupying that berth and it was little surprise that after two supposed tackles where Navas threw himself in with no prospect of claiming the ball, out came the referees notebook and accompanying yellow card, giving Guardiola something to think about right at the beginning.
But in their first real thrust, after five minutes, the Blues did something that has been missing in recent performances. They scored with their first attack. Silva challenged for the ball in the middle and moved it to de Bruyne who spotted Sane's run. The German ran Bellerin ragged and skipped inside to drill the ball past Ospina.
In the next attack, City once again shredded the Arsenal defence and de Bruyne was unlucky to see his strike hit the post with Ospina beaten, but he sprang up to save Silva's shot from the rebound.
The Blues looked to becoming unplayable for the first ten or fifteen minutes and it took Arsenal a while to establish themselves in the game. For the middle third of the first half not too much happened. City failed to take their early domination to the next level and Arsenal didn't look to be in sync. Sanchez was toiling away for them without any real support but with the first half drawing to a close an innocuous looking ball into the City box was only half headed away by Otamendi. Clichy was too slow to get out and the return ball into the box found Walcott who hitherto had done nothing. Just about the only thing he does all season is score against City and despite the indeterminate attention of Clichy, he managed to toe poke the ball into the City net for an undeserved equaliser.
The question now was whether City, who had withdrawn themselves into an untidy slumber could get back on top. Within 30 seconds of the restart they had once again hit the post and a minute later up stepped Sergio Aguero to score a trade mark goal from a position wide of the far right hand post, slotting it home just inside the left hand post. City's lead was restored and deservedly so. Again de Bruyne was involved. His one-two with Sterling didn't really come off but the ball ended up with Silva who slid in a wonderful pass for Aguero to score.
It was obvious that all City's problems in the first half, Clichy apart, arrived down the right, but Guardiola seemed reluctant to address the problem at half-time. Yaya was needed to add some solidity, but it was Sterling who was taken off. Instead of projecting Navas forward, he remained at full back with Yaya playing alongside Fernandinho.
The Blues looked initially as if they were going to go for it but with an early second half goal not forthcoming, Arsenal were allowed to get back in it. After 50 minutes, a corner on City's right, conceded as another result of the unusual configuration down that channel. Mustafi came from a long way out, undetected by Yaya or anyone in the back four, to head home easily to level the scores, giving Caballero no chance.
City tried to make lightning strike twice but it never looked like happening and in many ways it was their own fault they didn't capitalise on the Saturday results. Sane too often stepped offside and brought promising situations to a halt, Arsenal didn't do too much in attack either as the game flourished in midfield with a number of players on both sides taking one for the team as the yellow cards were waved at will by the referee Andre Marriner.
Wenger tried to change things introducing Giroud, another with a good scoring record against City, and then Iwobi, but neither made an impact. City didn't really replace anyone until the last five minutes when Pep's penny dropped and on came Zabaleta to make the right hand side secure for the remainder of the match.
By then both teams had pretty much settled for a draw. Disappointing from a City team who looked as if they could outpace Arsenal, but Arsenal would have had the same thoughts. In the end neither team could get the job done and what was expected to be an exhiliarating match turned into a bit of a damp squib.
City could and should have won this fixture but lacked intensity, lacked the desire to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Their frailties in defence were exposed time and again and I felt sorry for Navas, asked to do an impossible job in having to subdue one of the best footballers in the Barclays Premier League in Sanchez.
That said, two minutes into stoppage time, an easy handball in front of the linesman by Monreal was ignored and the Blues couldn't even get any external help.
Some of City's passing today was not good. Yaya in the second half, de Bruyne and Fernandinho were all guilty and time and again City's better-looking moves were undone by untidiness and at times their inability to string together sufficient passes to carve Arsenal open proved a major undoing.
In fairness City simply failed here to take advantage of many situations. The uncertainty surrounding Arsene Wenger's future has clearly affected Arsenal as teams have recently cashed in upon them. When it was needed they didn't have the courage to press on and get the win. Sterling's withdrawal took away one of City's edges as they looked off balance in the second half and there was a lack of pure pace down the right once he was gone.
In accepting a draw today they signalled Chelsea's route to winning the title at a time when they could have really put pressure on them bearing in mind the match coming up on Wednesday.
But not only Chelsea will have benefited from this City performance. Tottenham and Liverpool will have seen their top four aspirations cemented a little as their wins yesterday now look to have received a bonus. Liverpool in particular put in a strong performance against local rivals Everton. They too suffered an unexpected equaliser but exposed the poor team selection by Koeman, kept their composure and to the sheer ecstasy of dear Sue took the "Blue Noses" apart. She wasn't hiding under the bed for long once the third Liverpool goal went in.
That is what City needed today. To keep composed and press ahead for the win but sadly it didn't happen. I though Sergio Aguero was brilliant today. He grafted with and without the ball, closed down and tackled in midfield and his movement around the box was always a problem for the Gooners. It was a collective desire to win today that looked to be absent but it wasn't assisted by the mesmerising team selection by Guardiola and the tactical solution he thought was needed by taking off Sterling.
The Blues will stay in the capital to await their visit to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea. I shudder to think at what kind of line-up Pep has in mind.
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=579787#ixzz4d7NQikhb
