Arsenal ‘have the measure of the champions’; how dare ‘soft’ Pep be happy?

Editor F365 23 Sep 2024 12:04 PM

Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola

If you’re an Arsenal fan, you think they ‘have the measure of Man City’; if you support Liverpool you see it as a ‘fillip’.

Turning the Mirror on Arsenal
The Mirror absolutely know what they are doing with such headlines…

Mikel Arteta has every right to feel paranoid after Arsenal and Man City controversy

…and it certainly helps when massive Arsenal fan John Cross is your massive Arsenal correspondent.

To be fair to Cross, he does admit that Leandro Trossard was ‘pretty daft’, but then he spoils his even-handedness by writing this:

Has Mikel Arteta got a right to feel aggrieved? Definitely. Should he feel paranoid about decisions? It’s beginning to look like it. Managers just want consistency.

That’s the voice of an angry Arsenal fan and not the Chief Footballer Writer of a national newspaper.

The latter returns to note that ‘City were rightly aggrieved as the referee had called the captains together before Partey’s free kick and Kyle Walker was out of position’ for Riccardo Calafiori’s equaliser.

So how does that decision – which led to an Arsenal goal – marry with this idea that Arteta has ‘every right to feel paranoid’? Answer: It really doesn’t.

But the biggest laugh comes from Cross writing that Arsenal ‘now arguably have the measure of the champions’.

It’s close to a decade since Arsenal won at Manchester City so yes, we’ll take you up on ‘arguably’.

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Turning the Mirror on Liverpool
And sitting next to Cross at the Etihad was Andy Dunn, the Chief Sports Writer of the Daily Mirror and massive Liverpool fan. They must have had a bloody lovely afternoon together.

‘Pep Guardiola’s angry reaction against Arsenal can’t hide obvious Man City problems’ is the headline on his piece and we have to agree; City being unbeaten and top of the table with 13 goals scored in five games, after playing their biggest rivals, really does hint at some pretty substantial problems.

We can all agree that City were quite poor against the 10 men of Arsenal but this is an absolute nonsense: ‘Had Leandro Trossard not been sent off just before half-time, any fair-minded observer would have predicted an Arsenal victory.’

As is this: ‘That City did not have the ingenuity to properly take care of the depleted Gunners in the second half will not only give Arsenal serious encouragement, it will also be a fillip for Liverpool and for slightly less likely title challengers, such as Aston Villa and, don’t laugh, Chelsea.’

Ah, there we have it: It will be a ‘fillip’ to Liverpool, who are somehow a point behind this vulnerable City side despite not yet playing a team in the top six.

Guardiola still has an array of talent to call on and for the first quarter of this contest, they were as good as they have been all season. But in the time when a full Arsenal complement scored twice, City’s defensive vulnerability and slackness was again exposed.

Your colleague says they were ‘rightly aggrieved’ by the manner of the equaliser, Andy, but carry on…

The champions deserve credit for somehow finding a way to take something from a game when their well of ideas – usually brimful – seemed to have run dry. They deserve credit for showing some patience when Arsenal’s time-wasting became silly. And the fact is that they sit on top of the Premier League table, having dropped only two points from a possible 15.

But regardless of how serious Rodri’s injury is – and let’s hope he is back soon – this is a City side that is not going to run away with the title. Bucket seats beware.

They haven’t ‘run away with the title’ since 2020/21, fella. And yet they they have still won every one since. It’s almost like they know how to win titles and one 2-2 draw doesn’t really change that. But yes, it’s definitely a ‘fillip’ to a Liverpool team who lost 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest last week.

Perspective: Daily Mail style
‘Imagine Mafeking had fallen’ begins the report in the Daily Mail. Because of course a British military defence from 1899/1900 is an apt way to begin a match report from Manchester City v Arsenal in 2024.

You could be happy…
Martin Samuel of The Times managed to emerge from an engaging battle with tactical lessons for both coaches. Because he really does know better.

He accuses Mikel Arteta of ‘parking the bus’, even though it took them within seconds of a famous victory…

Yet if Arsenal’s manager spent last night staring at the ceiling it will be because he knows his old boss got it wrong and, once again, he failed to take advantage.

He ‘failed to take advantage’ by almost beating a Man City side that have not been beaten at the Etihad in the Premier League for over two years, despite having a man sent off before half-time? Behave.

As for Pep, you can argue that his team should have done rather more rather sooner to beat the Arsenal rear-guard action but what a right load of bum-twaddle this is…

At some time in the second half Guardiola should have issued a moratorium on shots from players who are not recognised goalscorers. Let’s say a ten-goal ceiling. Anyone who cannot point to at least ten goals in a single season, and tries his luck from outside the box, is off. That would have done for Kovacic (maximum eight for Inter Milan, 2014-15, or three for Manchester City last season), Dias (maximum four for Benfica, 2017-18 and 2018-19, or two for City, 2021-22), Akanji (maximum five for FC Basel, 2016-17, or four for City last season) and Walker (maximum two for Aston Villa, 2010-11, Tottenham, 2011-12, and Manchester City, 2018-19 and 2020-21).

So he should have somehow got a message onto the pitch halfway through the second half to let it be known that certain players were not allowed to shoot, with the punishment being immediate substitution? That seems perfectly reasonable, especially as Kovacic literally scored from distance this season as City beat Chelsea.

As for Guardiola, no matter the magnificence of Arsenal’s defences, this was a game his team should have won. If he genuinely was happy with this, he’s going soft.

He’s probably just happy his team didn’t lose against the second-best team in England, Martin. Despite what’s happening to West Ham, you should try being happy some time. It feels nice.

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