The Citizens Vs Gunners (Master Vs Apprentice).

 Manchester City Vs Arsenal

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The Premier League finally returned with a bang after 100 days since the pandemic suspended all sporting events around the world. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Premier League committee gave the green light to restart the games on the condition that games should be played behind closed doors. It was really strange to see a Premier League fixture without spectators. As new rules were introduced to maintain social distancing such as maintaining distance before entering the pitch, no handshakes before kick-off, etc, the opening fixture was played between Aston Villa and Sheffield United. The match did end in a draw, there was a bit of controversy surrounding the goal-line technology. The Blades had their goal disallowed after the referee's watch showed no goal only for the replay to show that the ball crossed the line. After the fixture ended, the issue was taken into consideration and Hawk-eye apologized for the mistake stating that this incident never occurred in 9000 matches. It was the first time that VAR did not intervene. 



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It was also a really good initiative by the Premier League to discourage racism after the murder of George Floyd sparked outrage among the citizens as well as the celebrities. Several popular figures spoke openly about the problems people face due to their skin color and also encouraged to stand against racism.
The Premier League committee decided that all team jerseys would display #Blacklivesmatter instead of their names to show solidity as well as encouraging #NoRoomForRacism. All players bowed to sit on a knee to pay tribute to George Floyd. It was a great gesture by the teams to take this initiative to show that racism is not tolerated.  




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Fans were excited to see the exciting encounter between Manchester City Vs Arsenal. It was also interesting to see the former Catalans boss Pep Guardiola take on his ex-protege Mikel Arteta for the first time since leaving the defending champions for the Gunners. The last time these teams met in Emirates Stadium, Arsenal were managed by their former player Freddie Ljungberg before Arteta's appointment. The fixture ended in a disappointment for the hosts as they succumbed to 3-0 defeat thanks to stunning display by Kevin De Bruyne. As the North London outfit look for a spot in the next season's Champions League, a victory for Arsenal over the defending champions would boost their hopes of qualifying. Let us find out who claimed the 3 points.

Match Summary: 

It was a disappointing night for the visitors as Arteta's men were beaten convincingly by the hosts despite starting strong in the early minutes of the game. Mikel Arteta was unsuccessful in beating his former boss as Pep Guardiola completed a double over the North London outfit. The last time Arsenal won against the defending champions was in 2015. Both the fixtures ended with the same score of 3-0. Now let us discuss the talking points out of this fixture. 

Talking Points:  

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1. injury woes continue for Arteta's men: 

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Arsenal has always had an injury crisis during Arsene Wenger's tenure with most notably Santi Cazorla and Abou Diaby. Unfortunately for the former Gunners midfielder, injury woes continued in the early stages of the game. Granit Xhaka was forced to leave the field after he twisted his ankle awkwardly which prompted Dani Ceballos to replace him. All seemed well for the visitors until another crisis occurred. Misery heaped on Arteta as Pablo Mari was substituted after he pulled out a muscle and was replaced by the former Chelsea defender David Luiz.

2. Arsenal shows promising signs:

Normally we witness Manchester City dominating in the early stages of any fixture as the citizens always begin to pressurize their opponents. Surprisingly, the Gunners began to attack in the early minutes of the game. They were also close to open the account when Bukayo Saka crossed the ball to Eddie Nketiah who shot from the center only for the ball to miss towards the right side. 

The visitors once again were close to scoring a goal when Eddie Nketiah set up an opportunity to Aubameyang who shot from outside the box only for the ball to go high and wide. These were good opportunities for Arteta's men until the game turned against their favors after 30 minutes.



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3. David Luiz - the man who decided the outcome: 

The Brazilian has been a subject of controversies in his career. Everyone remembers that the former Blues defender was heavily booed by the supporters as Brazil were humbled by the Germans in their backyard. He was again criticized for his horrendous display in the Champions League 2015 when he was a part of the PSG squad that faced the Catalans. David Luiz was blamed for the loss as Luis Suarez nutmegged him twice that sealed their fate. Since he departed from the Blues for the second time, he has been labeled as a desperate signing for the Gunners. 

The former PSG defender endured a disappointing night as the defending champions opened their account thanks to David Luiz's mistake when Kevin De Bruyne attempted to pass-through Sterling only for the ball to make contact with his body and fall in the path of the former Liverpool winger who scored past Leno. Misery piled upon the Brazilian in the second-half when he clipped Riyad Mahrez inside the box as City were awarded a penalty and Luiz was sent off. 

Image Source: football.london.com

4. Leno's crucial saves restrict City embarrassing Arsenal: 

Honestly, I felt that despite the Gunners conceding 3 goals, I felt that Leno did make a couple of crucial saves to avoid restricting the host's scoring more number of goals. The Citizens were close to scoring when they won a freekick and De Bruyne struck the ball with power and precision and the German keeper reacted brilliantly by punching away. 

Another moment where the Gunners were saved when the Belgian delivered an excellent through ball to Mahrez only for the former Bayer Leverkusen keeper to react on time. The German shot-stopper also saved an attempt from David Silva that was assisted by Gabriel Jesus. Unfortunately, his saves were overshadowed by Manchester City scoring 3 goals past him. 

Image Source: manchester evening news.com

5. Kevin De Bruyne's performance:

The Belgian national has been a crucial player to the defending champions this season. His performances have been consistent in almost every game. In this fixture, he did not disappoint as he made some beautiful passes and controlled the game in his style. He also made one brilliant pass to Sterling who chipped the ball high and wide. He also created another opportunity when he found Mahrez free and passed the ball towards him.

 He was also responsible for setting up Sterling to score the first goal even though the ball contacted David Luiz. The Belgian scored the second goal when the hosts were awarded a penalty. He also scored a brace in the previous encounter this season. Not to mention his ability to play long-balls, he is currently leading the assists chart this campaign with 16 assists to his name. 




Overall, it was great to see both the teams fighting for 3 points. Unfortunately for Arsenal, it was Pep Guardiola who got the better of his former protege. It was a disappointing night for the Gunners as they fell to a 3-0 defeat despite them playing brilliantly and showing positive signs in the early stages of the game. Even though Xhaka was injured, they created a couple of opportunities and Leno was the busy man who made a couple of good saves. Thanks to a disastrous display by David Luiz, the defending champions scored 2 goals and sealed the game when Phil Foden came on scored. 

The English youngster is indeed a prospect as his progress continues rapidly. The only concern for Guardiola's men was Eric Garcia collided with Ederson and was taken out of the field. Had Arsenal won, it would have boosted their confidence for the upcoming Champions League. With the Gunners defeated, they remain still at the 9th place while the Citizens stay at 2nd place. As Manchester City's ban still pending and The Champions League spot up for grabs, one thing is for sure, the fight for Champions League spot will be a horse race. 



Author,
Zaid