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Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates stadium in London on Sunday. City are the defending champions and favourites to win the title this season as well. Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva scored on either side of the half time to secure a convincing win for Pep Guardiola’s side.
City were the dominant team with 58 percent ball possession. They also had 17 shots against Arsenal’s 9. Arsenal also managed to score twice, but those goals were scored from offside positions and therefore did not count.
City kick-started their campaign in emphatic fashion with a resounding victory over an Arsenal side supervised by new coach Unai Emery.
Arsenal were playing their first competitive match without Arsene Wenger in 22 years, and were hoping to salvage a point. However, they were left to rue some missed chances, and often had a laid back approach in the opposition half.
Overall, City were the better team and remain the team to beat in the Premier League. We take a look at 3 things we learned from the game.
#1 City's blistering pace down the flanks could be too hot to handle
Throughout the match, City attacked via the wings with great pace. Riyad Mahrez was a constant threat on the right wing and Benjamin Mendy overlapped brilliantly on the left. One of Mendy’s crosses led to City’s second goal.
Arsenal’s fullbacks often had much difficulty handling the scorching pace. Kyle Walker, the City right back, also combined with Mahrez at times to make life difficult for Arsenal’s left back Maitland-Niles .
Stephan Lichtsteiner, Maitland-Niles's substitute, did somewhat better in coping with the attacks. Hector Bellerin, Arsenal’s right-back, had a better game on the opposite flank and contributed to some of the Arsenal attacks.
This scorching pace is going to trouble City’s opponents in the upcoming matches. Mahrez, who was playing in his first league match in a City shirt, impressed a great deal before being substituted in the second half, and it can easily be said that City have been further strengthened by his signing. Mendy, another debutant for City, also looked to be a great addition to the side as he was tireless with his runs and crosses.
#2 City’s high press and off the ball play was quite impressive
City’s forwards Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling pressed Arsenal’s defenders incessantly throughout the match. They started to press immediately after losing possession, and did not allow Arsenal’s defenders much breathing space.
City's players were also quite good at their off the ball play, and assumed perfect positions to receive passes.
Sterling virtually played in a free role before being substituted in the second half. Apart from scoring a brilliant goal from outside the box, he fell back frequently into his own half to recover the ball. He also kept switching to the flanks at intervals.
Ilkay Gundogan, City’s central midfielder, controlled the tempo of the game with his intelligent touches and distribution. He also helped spread the game to the wings to allow City’s fast wingers reign supreme. High pressing and short quick passes are the hallmarks of teams coached by Pep Guardiola, and those traits were again on display on Sunday.
#3 Arsenal’s weakness in the final third exposed
Arsenal's forwards were indecisive in the final third. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was virtually missing apart from scoring a goal from an offside position, and Aaron Ramsey was not much better either. Mesut Ozil had some vital touches and managed to play some quality passes, but it was not enough.
Arsenal went into counter-attacks by playing long balls, and got into scoring positions as well, but failed to convert their chances. Their forwards were guilty of passing wrongly, and wasting too many chances.
Things got somewhat better for Arsenal when Alexandre Lacazette was introduced in the second half as he created some chances with his deft touches and incisive runs. However, he also squandered a great opportunity to score.
Henrik Mkhitaryan tried to dribble past the City defenders at times, and so did Ozil, but they didn't succeed. Emery will have to revamp his attacking strategy if Arsenal are to perform better in the upcoming matches.
