"I am going to hit you in the head with my own head!" Pic via Guardian.
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 0
In yesterday's big title implication showdown at the Emirates, we learned a few things. Mainly, that Arsenal are still a little rusty in the finishing department, to a frustrating level, and that Manchester City has no intention of trying to win big matches. Their strategy to win the league seems to be "steal a point against your title rivals and hope you do better against the rest of the pack than they do." Never before has a team in second place tried to win so little.
As expected, Arsenal started with the same XI that played against Chelsea last week and against Birmingham at the weekend, with Fabianski in goal, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, and Clichy on the back line, Father Christmas Song and Wilshere in the holding roles, Fabregas in the middle, van Persie up front, and Nasri and Walcott on the wings. Manchester City started with a goalkeeper, Carlos Tevez, and apparently nine defenders.
The first ten minutes of this match were, quite honestly, ridiculous. Jack Wilshere sent a brilliant cross through the face of the goal that Robin van Persie could not quite reach to tap into the gaping net in the second minute. City went the other way and James Milner had a shot twist just wide in the sixth minute (City's best chance of the game, FYI.) Then van Persie hit the post in the eighth minute and Wilshere had a shot saved by Joe Hart in the ninth.
The, things started settling into nothingness for a while. In the 27th, Arsenal hit the post again about ten million times. Actually, it was three, as they hit both posts and the crossbar. Cesc Fabregas pounded a shot that careened off the same post van Persie had hit twenty minutes earlier and the rebound bounced to Theo Walcott, whose shot ricocheted off the other post and then off the crossbar. You should get a point for hitting all three in quick succession like that! Then again, Walcott was ruled offside. Arsenal then became Arsenal again, in that they began passing the ball too many times in the final third while always neglecting to take shots. The match was still, shockingly, scoreless at halftime.
Arsenal continued in the same pattern of missed opportunities in the second half, and by the hour mark, you could tell it was just one of those nights. Arsenal took almost every corner short, as they had no chance of winning a ball in the air in the box. Generally, that led to more Arsenaling before a misplaced pass and loss of possession.
Walcott was removed in the 67th for Andrei Arshavin and the young Englishman was none too pleased about the move. Tactically, this pushed Samir Nasri to the right wing. Then, the puzzling change. In the 81st, Nicklas Bendtner came on, surprisingly instead of Marouane Chamakh. But, that's not the most puzzling part. Bendtner came on for Jack Wilshere, which also isn't surprising, as Arsene Wenger was bringing on a striker for a midfielder as the team was in need for a goal. And then, inexplicably, Bendtner played on the left wing, which meant Arsenal's formation had changed to a 4-1-Nonsense. Arsenal's best chance in the closing minutes came from a Robin van Persie free kick which he fired over the bar.
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| Both sides ended on ten men. |
Things got nasty in the 88th, as Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta got into an argument on the touchline, both head-butted each other, and both were sent off. Sagna was clearly the aggressor (as such, Zabaleta has appealed the red card and Sagna will not; I hope the appeal is deemed frivolous.) Sagna now faces a three match ban, against the likes of Leeds, Ipswich, and West Ham, three Championship sides (zing!) After this, City made a substitution to take their only offensive player off in exchange for a defensive midfielder. As such, City were booed off the pitch after the match.
In the end, a dreadful match that only serves to please Manchester United, who are suddenly starting to coast ahead in the title race. Someone needs to beat them, and soon. I think their next league game is at Spurs. Ahh, don't make me root for Spurs... Oh God, I'm getting sick just thinking about that match a week from Saturday. Anyway, Arsenal are now four points out of top spot and United has a game in hand, so you should probably think of it as seven. Now it's time to start thinking about the domestic cups for a little bit, and try to forget about what happened yesterday as quickly as you can.
Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: The woodwork behind Joe Hart
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