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Arsenal’s woeful start to the 2021-22 Premier League season continued as the Gunners suffered a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday.
It did not take long for the defending champions to assume complete control of the game. Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres put City 2-0 up with just 12 minutes played. Granit Xhaka’s 35th-minute red card complicated matters further for the Gunners before Gabriel Jesus added a third just before half-time.
Any slim hopes of an unlikely Arsenal comeback were extinguished when Rodri curled home a fine strike eight minutes into the second half. City barely got out of second gear in the second half, and rounded off the scoring with Torres bagging his second late on.
Arsenal's latest loss leaves Mikel Arteta’s men languishing at the bottom of the table without a win, point or a goal. City, meanwhile, have bounced back emphatically from their opening-day defeat with consecutive 5-0 wins.
On that note, here are the five hits and flops from either team in the game at Etihad Stadium:
#5 Hit: Ferran Torres (Manchester City)
Although signed as a winger, most of FerranTorres’ Manchester City career has been spent playing the false 9 role. In fairness to the Spaniard, it is a role he has largely shone in, with his performance on Saturday being another excellent example of that.
Torres was rewarded for showing a striker’s instinct early on when he turned home a loose ball to register City’s second. His sense of positioning also played a huge part in City’s fourth goal, for which he claimed a well-deserved assist.
Torres proceeded to showcase excellent pace and energy to pull Arsenal’s defenders apart throughout the game. He even found time to complete his brace late on, deftly heading home a Riyad Mahrez cross for City’s fifth of the night.
#4 Flop: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Facing Manchester City with eleven men is one of the toughest tasks in the game. As such, Xhaka did his side no favours when he received a straight red for a dangerous two-footed lunge on Joao Cancelo, which reduced Arsenal to ten men.
The Swiss international was already getting overrun in midfield, and the sending off simply brought matters to an unfortunate early conclusion for the Gunners. At a time when Arsenal are looking for stability and leadership, Xhaka’s actions on the pitch did not set the best example of that.
To exacerbate matters, Xhaka is now set to miss Arsenal’s next three games as they attempt to bring their campaign back on track.
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