Three Things We Learned From Arsenal v Manchester City: A Tale of Two Projects
The Unai Emery era has officially begun, and it was maybe not the start some had hoped for, but it was a start and there was still something to learn from it. So, with that in mind we take a look at the first of this season’s 3 Things Series, with 3 Things We Learned from Arsenal v Manchester City.
A Tale of Two Projects
Starting off the season against the defending champions, especially one like City and the form they are in is not good for any team. But, it did offer us a chance to look at us against a project that is 3 years in the making versus one that is barely 3 months old.
When Pep came to England the first year was difficult for him as he sussed out the league. He learned each team, while working with his team to develop a foundation for the way he wanted them to play. As that first season bore on and it didn’t net a positive result, many questioned whether the Premier League had gotten the best of the man considered the best manager of his generation.
The rest as they say is history.
Arsenal came out yesterday and let’s be honest they looked like they were still trying to figure it out. One of the most glaring issues for me was in transition from defending to attacking – the
quality of passing, wasn’t as crisp as it needs to be. It also wasn’t as fast as you needed. Yet, there were still signs of change.
In defense, Arsenal didn’t look like the hot mess and there was definitive structure in the back line with the fullbacks tucked in narrowly to support the two center backs. And there was a concerted effort by the midfielders and defenders to get back behind the ball and cut off the passing channels when they didn’t have the ball. All in all a marked change from times past.
There were still significant things to work on and that’s okay. This wasn’t going to resolve itself over the course of a month of pre-season and a few friendlies. It needs time.
Looking at City, you see a team comfortable on the ball knowing what is expected of them in Pep’s system. It is regimented into them and they know where to be and how to play it. This is not where we are yet.
If you don’t have the patience for the fits that are going to come from the monumental change we have to go through, then football may not be for you right now. It may get better than have issues again, its to be expected.
New Boys Look Good. . . sort of
With the exception of Bernd Leno, three of this summer’s signings saw time on the pitch yesterday.
Matteo Guendouzi saw the most significant time with 90 minutes committed to the cause. Stephan Lichtsteiner came on in the 34th minute for the injured Ainsely Maitland-Niles and Lucas Torreira came on in the 71st minute for Granit Xhaka.
Each of the signings added something to game and some, like the team itself are going to need time to bed in.
With Lichtsteiner, you wonder how many games he can play at 34 because the man is something we’ve not had for a while. Besides his considerable winning pedigree, he adds bite and skill to the pitch.
His positional awareness going up against one of the best wingers was evident as his only mistake was reacting late to Silva coming across the box and shooting for the second goal. Add to that his natural leadership tendencies on the pitch (that’s a nice way of saying he’s a ball buster) and he is definitely worth having in this squad.
Torreira came in for the out of shape Granit Xhaka and added some stability to the midfield. He not only worked to press more than Xhaka when players came into his zone but his understanding as a true pivot player helped link up play from the back line to the attack – something Xhaka wasn’t doing at all.
We can hope that the Uruguyan gets the nod as a starter next week and clogs up the midfield and helps get the best of Mesut Özil acting as his first pass feeder.
I have something to admit, as good as Matteo Guendouzi looked yesterday at times, he looked equally as bad. No doubt this is a player who as he grows more confident and understands his role more will grow but yesterday against the Champions he showed why he is equal parts phenom and learning kid.
Guendouzi was responsible for the first goal. If it was Xhaka we’d have crucified him (well most of us.) Bellerin shows Sterling inside where he has numbers up. Guendouzi aggressively pressures Sterling but over plays it making it easy for the City forward to go beyond him. There is no one there to put pressure on and the shot is made and Cech is blinded by the shifting defenders.
Additionally, the youngster also nearly gifted the Champions a third goal when his errant pass in the midfield was picked off by Sergio Aguero. If not for the stellar positioning of Petr Cech and the selfishness of Kun, it would’ve been 3-0.
There were other moments too of either poor passing or overplaying in a 1v1 situation, but, there were other moments, like a lovely long diagonal pass, or winning the ball with aggressive work to start the counter.
Like the team, Guendouzi is going to take time to develop. I really hope some corners of the fandom have the patience to let him develop.
There Are Positives Even in the Loss
As Gooners we are predispositioned to being negative. It has been a long time since we’ve had something to look forward to.
Yet, there were moments yesterday when things did work and we looked like we’re going to be okay.
First, the press had moments that created chances and had we had our shooting boots on we might have made something of this match. Our press isn’t frenetic like Klopp’s or Poch’s. Its more like Pep’s. It closes you down effectively and waits for the errors. We didn’t look that bad executing it. And when we did – oh boy did we have chances.
Additionally, as we mentioned earlier the defensive organization looked better. Centerbacks weren’t caught terribly high up the pitch having to sprint back. They weren’t caught out in too many 1v1 situations. They tracked runners back. I also saw better positional awareness from a certain maligned defender who only once did I want to scream about when he got schooled by Sterling in the box and his answer was to stick out a leg. You know of who I speak.
Again as we said earlier, this is going to take time where there are more positives than negatives. Unfortunately, the finishing school is the league and given where we’ve been we are shorn of patience.
Extra Time
I am an unabashed acolyte of the School of Özil. I simply believe that is a generational player and we will sorely miss him when he is gone. But I am not going to sugar coat it – he was awful yesterday.
His final ball in the box was awful and he lacked influence on the game in even his subtle yet compelling manner. Part of it had to be starting the game out wide. He did get better when Emery adjusted at the half and let him play a more traditional role as a 10 and gave him freedom to float. Still, for the German whom we want to see do well, it was a performance to forget.
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