Manchester City Vs Arsenal

The Citizens Vs Gunners

Image Source: footballweeks.com

The big match for the weekend was expected to be exciting as these two teams locked horns. Man City looked to make a comeback after their surprising defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals. Arsenal meanwhile continue to build under the tutelage of their former invincibles man Freddy Ljungberg.  The Gunners have lost their last 4 meetings against the Citizens. The defending champions have won their last 2 meetings against the 13-time premier league champions. But in recent times The Gunners have failed to mount a title challenge in recent years ever and have failed to replicate their success and have since then fallen. After Arsene Wenger left the dugout, the Gunners appointed Unai Emery as his successor. 

The 3 time Europa League winner appeared to impress in his 1st press conference as he promised to deliver success and bring back the glory days. After showing promising results and spending money in the transfer market bringing players such as Lucas Torreira, Sokratis Papasthapolous, Matteo Guendouzi, and Bernd Leno in his 1st season everybody expected the former PSG boss to make an instant impact even though they missed out on the top 4. 

He again splashed the cash on Nicolas Pepe making the club's expensive signing and bringing in the Brazilian center-back David Luiz to the Emirates. But the lack of leadership in the backline proved to be a major discussion as various pundits and former peers predicted that the former Sevilla Boss would be sacked. It did turn out that way as Unai Emery was relieved of his duties after disappointing results. Meanwhile, the defending champions looked to bounce back in the title race. Who claimed all 3 points?

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Match Summary:

The Gunners made changes to their side that defeated the Hammers last outing with Kieran Tierney ruled out after sustaining an injury while Xhaka made way for Guendouzi in midfield. The defending champions made four changes on the other hand. The former Barca boss made changes as Stones and Angelino proved their vulnerability against their rivals as they were replaced by Mendy and Otamendi. Gundogan was brought into the line-up to solidify their midfield while Phil Foden also started. 

The match began as we expected with Pep's men beginning to attack in the early stages and began to test Arsenal's defense. The match was one-sided with City repeatedly threatening the Gunner's vulnerability. The match ended with City claiming 3 points with all the goals coming before the half time whistle after a fantastic display by none other than their star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. The defeat meant that the Gunners were headed to the rock bottom after their horrendous display. 

Match insights:

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1. Kevin De Bruyne's impressive run:

Honestly, I have lost words for this man. I mean is he a human? The Belgium midfielder has proved to be a major influence for the defending champions this campaign. Since his return to the starting 11, the creativity in the Citizens midfield has been a threat to the opposition. The Belgium national has racked up 9 assists to his name as well as scoring some crucial goals. 

One of his crucial goals in this campaign has proved to be stellar. The goal against the Hornets was indeed a classic and the other goal against Newcastle was a cracker. He continued his impressive run against Arsenal when he broke the deadlock in the 2nd minute when he passed the ball to Gabriel Jesus who sprinted towards the box only for him to pass the ball back to the midfielder who struck a powerful shot to give the lead. He was also instrumental in the build-up for the second goal in the 15th minute when he drove towards the opposition's backline and he cleverly slid a pass to Sterling who increased the lead. The defending champions increased their lead in the 40th minute when Kevin De Bruyne struck the ball from his left-foot towards the left bottom corner. 

Image Source: metro.co.uk

2. Ozil's reaction on being subbed off:

This is not the 1st time we have seen players reacting violently after being subbed off towards the closing minutes of the game. We all know how Carlos Tevez reacted when his number was displayed to be benched against Bayern Munich in the group stages of the Champions League. In this case, it was not the 1st time that the Gunners witnessed this scene. Granit Xhaka was given the armband by Unai Emery to lead the team. He made headlines after The he was subbed off for Bakayo Sako shortly after the Gunners had thrown away a two-goal lead against the Eagles. Early goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz had put Arsenal 2-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes, but a Luka Milivojević penalty and a second-half goal from Jordan Ayew put Palace back on level terms.

Xhaka was booed as he trudged off the pitch and reacted by throwing up his arms and abusing the crowd several times. He slapped hands with Emery before making his way off down the tunnel.

This Prompted Emery to take off the captain's armband and handing it over to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. A similar incident was again witnessed when Ozil’s number 10 went up on the board in the second half as he was replaced by Emile Smith Rowe. The former Real Madrid man was angry at the decision, with his body language the biggest indicator of his feelings. He walked slowly to the touchline, something that frustrated the home crowd. The fans began to whistle, but Ozil resisted the temptation to bite back, just as Granit Xhaka did against Crystal Palace. It was perhaps his wisest move given the uproar the Xhaka incident caused. Instead, Ozil kicked his gloves after removing them. 

He was then consoled by former team-mate Per Mertesacker, who tried to calm Ozil down. What lies next for the former German World-Cup winner?

3. Candidates favorite for the job:

This has been a hot topic ever since Unai Emery was sacked after disappointing results. The Gunners are looking for a long-term replacement ever since Arsene Wenger left the dug-out. Let us look and see who could be the next manager for the 13-time premier league champions. 

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Mikel Arteta:

The former midfielder is a possible favorite candidate for the job ever since the former PSG boss was given the sack. Arteta signed for the Gunners in 2011 and played for 5 years in the team with the likes of Mertesacker, Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, Van-Persie, Ozil, etc. After calling on time in his playing career in 2016, he joined Man City's coaching staff under Pep Guardiola and was promoted as his assistant the following season. Since then, he has been a part of the squad who went on to win the title 2 consecutive seasons. Honestly, my opinion is the Gunners should go for a veteran manager.

Image Souce: metro.co.uk

Carlo Ancelotti:

Who would not like this man to lead the team?  The Italian is also a possible candidate for the Gunners since being sacked by Napoli. Nicknamed 'Don Carlo'. there is no doubt for this man's experience to be doubted. The Italian is not a stranger to the premier league as he previously managed the Blues 8 years ago. He guided them to a league double as well as the Community Shield in his 2 seasons at Stanford Bridge. The Italian has also won league titles with AC Milan, PSG, and Bayer Munich and has also managed start players such as Zidane, Ronaldinho, Beckham, Kaka, Pirlo, Maldini, Seedorf, Gattuso, Cafu, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, the list keeps growing and he is also one of the few managers to win 3 UEFA Champions League along with Zinedine Zidane for Real Madrid and Bob Paisley for Liverpool. Not to mention, he is also one of the few bosses to win European titles with 2 different clubs ( Real Madrid, AC Milan) along with Jose Mourinho ( Inter Milan, Porto), Jupp Heynckes ( Bayern Munich,  Real Madrid), Ernst Happel ( Hamburg, Feyenoord) and Ottmar Hitzfield ( Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund). Not to mention he has won 5 UEFA Champions League titles ( 2 as a player, 3 as a manager). It would be amazing if he could be the man to lead the Gunners.

Image Source: metro.co.uk

Max Allegri:

The former Juve boss is one of the few names who can replace Unai Emery. After being appointed the Juventus boss in 2014 when Antonio Conte left to manage the Azurri, it was initially met with a mixed reception from the supporters as previously managed AC Milan. But, since then he has guided the Italian Giants to 5 consecutive Seria A titles. Not to mention that he even guided them to 2 European Finals in 4 years both ending with a defeat at the hands of Barcelona and Real Madrid. He also formed a rock-solid backline with likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli, Dani Alves, Alex Sandro. If appointed this man indeed has can bring in players from the Italian League.

Image Source: 90min.com

Post-match thoughts:

This defeat meant that the Gunners are almost out of the race for top 4. Nobody expected that this team who won the league title in 2004 and were nicknamed the 'Invincibles' as they were undefeated would become a team who would struggle. Man City continue to catch the leaders after this win. This was the 6th time Man City won against the Gunners under Pep Guardiola. Pep's men claimed all 3 points after a superb display by Kevin De Bruyne in the 1st half. The 2nd half was less exciting as it looked like the game was settled. The question is 'will it be Arteta, Ancelotti, Allegri to lead the 13-time premier league champions'? 

Author, 

Zaid