Home   >   MOTDs   >   MOTD: Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City

MOTD: Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City

By on August 10, 2014

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Arsenal won the league twice challenged for five or so seasons, and won multiple other titles. But after 1993, the club dropped out of title contention for five years, going trophy-less until 1998, when their squad was reinvented by Arsene Wenger. As a whole new team, they won eleven titles in the next six seasons, including going through their famous Invincibles season in 2003/2004. But just as in the 1990s, that success then petered out. Despite reaching a Champions League final and multiple cup final losses, more than five years passed until they won a title again. In fact, it was only at the end of last season before they won another title – the FA Cup final, also the first title they won after the 1990s drought. Granted this drought of more than eight years was longer, yet it does seem as history might be repeating itself; tonight Arsenal added to their FA Cup title by beating Manchester City in the Community Shield.

It may be a largely ceremonial title, but it certainly is confidence boosting. Especially with a largely dominant 3-0 victory; Arsenal’s new signings meshed well together as well as with the existing talent in Aaron Ramsey, Yaya Sanogo, plus more. And World Cup winer Mesut Ozil wasn’t even available, nor was Lukas Podolski or Per Mertesacker. Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, and Alexis Sánchez all started, though, providing much needed stability at the back and pace in the wings, respectively. When the league kicks off it really will be an new faced Arsenal team from two or three years back. What the title means heading into the coming season is questionable – David Moyes’ Manchester United won it last year – especially as Manchester City did have more possession and shot than The Gunners. Yet up front, Arsenal were more clinical, something City lacked in without Sergio Aguero, even an Arsenal side starting without their main center forward in Olivier Giroud. Arsenal’s shot accuracy was a astoundingly more than 40% better than City’s, who only managed one shot on target from eleven shots.

Even in the early stages it was clear that Wenger’s men looked the more creative of the two – it took just twenty-one minutes for them to break the deadlock when Santi Cazorla sliced a twenty yard effort into the bottom left corner. City’s defense didn’t do their usual job at the back to block the goal and deny the shot, with new signing Dedryck Boyata alongside Matja Nastasic proving that the reigning Premier League champions heavily rely on Vincent Kompany. It didn’t take long for their back line to be broken again by Cazorla, who slipped a reverse pass into the run of Sanogo down the middle. Only a dragged effort wide of the left hand post from Sanogo denied Arsenal of a second.

The Frenchman might have improved massively from last season but is still not quite ready for the highest level of football. More carving, though, and it will be fantastic to see the footballer he turns into – when Sanchez carved a brilliant counter-attacking chance late in the first half by feeding him with an inch-perfect through-ball, the starlet cut it back to Aaron Ramsey at exactly the right moment for the midfielder to cut back outside and tuck a low effort past Willy Caballero.

It already seemed all but over, and for a match that usually hardly gets going Arsenal finished it off awfully quickly, only sixty-six minutes had gone by before halftime substitute Giroud saw his deflected effort loop over Caballero and make it three. Certainly, City looked mildly more dangerous when David Silva was brought on – Stevan Jovetic saw his far post header bounce out off the post shortly after Silva was brought on – but City lacked the energy Arsenal did. Wenger’s side seemed altogether the more energized side, one ready to finally challenge for the league title late on after years of third and fourth place finishes. City were a weakened team missing more than a half of their usual starters, but should have been more energized even so. No doubt they will challenge for the the title once mora, but it looks like they will have Arsenal as serious competition this time.

Tactical Though:
Arsenal have played the same way under Arsene Wenger for many many years. It was the same tonight, his classic 4-2-3-1 formation. Yet City manager Manuel Pellegrini still got it wrong, going with a 4-4-2. In the end, Arsenal had the numerical advantage in the midfield by a longshot thus winning them the midfield, and match.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.