Five lessons learned from Arsenal’s abysmal loss to Manchester City

2. Are we coming back too soon?

The tale of the first half, despite the late City goal, was Arsenal suffering two injuries. Both Pablo Mari and Granit Xhaka came off injured, with the latter looking far more significant. Especially in the midfield which is a position of no great depth to Arteta, he will feel concerned going forward with the tight run of fixtures.

There was bound to be rustiness, with City even showing signs of not being at full fitness. I suppose between now and the end of the season, it’s damage limitation for Arteta as he hopes to keep many players fit. It’s frustrating, of course, since the Gunners have it all to play for, but those are just the conditions of the world.

1. The start was bright

In the first 20 or so minutes, I did believe that we stood a chance in this match. Eddie Nketiah was looking lively and the ball through to him always seemed to be on. Arsenal and City shared an equal chunk of possession, which is rare against a Pep Guardiola side especially away from home.

This is a good thing. It shows that the foundations are there for Arteta to build on. With the players available to us at the moment, we can play City at their own game (and it’s one of the best games in Europe). This fluid, easy on the eye football is something that Arsenal have always prided themselves on, but we just need to work on keeping the same momentum throughout the 90 and not letting our standards slip. AKA, not bringing on Luiz.

What did you make of Arsenal’s performance last night?