Kevin Whitcher
So, a week in which we’d hoped for four points out of six to maintain Arsenal’s genuine hopes of challenging for the title has ended pointless. All the fault of the officials according to Le Boss, who has made a speciality of shifting the blame when there is any chance. And at £8.3 million a year (plus bonuses, I have it on good authority), why wouldn’t he? It ignores the fact his team mustered one attempt on target in 90 minutes. Arsenal have enjoyed a bit of good fortune over the course of the campaign to achieve the unbeaten sequence they enjoyed, but that ran out over the last six days. Swings and roundabouts.
Yes, Manchester City’s first goal was offside, but it was a very tight call and the officials are not supposed to give decisions if they are uncertain. The second goal really depends on interpretation of the law, but there is no arguing that Arsenal's defence failed to put in a challenge worthy of the name and Petr Cech was beaten at his near post. Fundamentally though, Pep Guardiola’s side’s win was deserved due to the comparison in the performance levels of the two sides.
Arsenal had a decent enough first half. One-nil up at the interval, although they didn’t dominate the 45 minutes. The second half, they were abject. Players such as Mesut Ozil – seemingly already on his winter break – were lacklustre and uncommitted. It was a shocker. Last season, having beaten Leicester at home with a late winner to move within two points of top spot, Wenger’s team went to Old Trafford to face a struggling Manchester United team and stunk the place out, somehow conspiring to lose by only one goal. But the display that day was so poor that some long-term advocates of the manager had seen enough. The title there for the taking, the players couldn’t be motivated to put in a shift.
Responses to the defeat at Manchester City – due more to the nature of the performance than the defeat – have been similar in their anger. Arsenal are nine points behind Chelsea but only the most deluded supporter could see that gap being closed after what they witnessed yesterday. West Brom and Palace should be beaten at home to calm the waters, but currently in fourth place, hanging on to that top four spot will become the realistic ambition of the season once 2017 gets going with trips awaited to Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, Southampton and Stoke. Visits to Old Trafford, Goodison and the Eithad have garnered a point – and that was another game that witnessed a solitary Arsenal shot on target.
Fortunately, it should put all questions about the manager staying on as meaningless conjecture. My understanding is that the decision was made last season that it was time for change, but given the manager’s contribution to the club and loyalty when he was in demand, it will be dressed up as Arsene making the decision to call it a day. The stories that there is a contract on the table waiting to be signed are just that. Wenger himself knows the game is up. He had one last throw of the dice this season, but his body language tells us enough. He has spent much of the campaign sitting on his behind.
So a little detail on the match. The Ox was dropped in favour of Iwobi, the only change from Everton. After four minutes, it all looked so good, with Bellerin allowed to advance, City on the back foot, and a goal being fathomed when Sanchez took a pass and played Walcott in. Theo did nada for the rest of the match, but was on the scoresheet. It actually summarizes a decent chunk of his better contributions in an Arsenal shirt.
Sterling should have equalized from a header not too long after, but put it wide. City were awoken and started to play with some genuine purpose, and the first half was pretty even by the time the referee blew for the interval.
Soon after the restart, City were level. The ball broke for them in midfield from a Cech goal-kick and the defence were caught cold. Sane was inches offside, but it tight enough for the linesman to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was another lead given away. Doesn’t seem to happen with Antonio Conte’s teams quite so much. He’s like a modern day George Graham in that respect, only more consistent. The Cup Winners’ Cup side had Paul Merson, Chelsea have Eden Hazard. George could win cups with defensive resilience, the odds on Chelsea taking the title aren’t too generous after 11 wins in a row.
Arsenal dropped deep allowing City time to play it around. It was the kind of tactic lesser teams use when they come to the E******s, but Arsenal proved so poor in keeping the ball when they had it, they gave their hosts plenty of opportunities to convert. Where was the resilience? The famed mental strength? Spirit? The Dr Ceri Evans effect? When the going gets tough, Arsenal wilt. Alexis was tearing his hair out whilst his colleagues construed to give the ball back to City at the earliest possible opportunity. It felt as it we were just waiting for the goal to come and eventually it did, as De Bruyne converted without too much in the way of obstruction from Monreal.
The goals, and their sequence, echoed events at Goodison Park. One-nil up, two-one down. Sounds like the potential title of a new fanzine. At least Mikel Arteta, in the City dugout, had the good grace not to celebrate either of his team’s goals.
The Ox had came on for Iwobi, and was withdrawn less than 20 minutes later with another hamstring. Echoes of Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup last season.
After the goal, it was kitchen sink time with Giroud coming on for Coquelin but there wasn’t much in the way of service. There was a ray of hope as Ozil found Sanchez who put Walcott clear from the angle, but the nothingy lob into touch that followed was rank. A rare chance completely spurned with a lack of quality from the number 14.
There was no sense of in-game management either amongst the players or from the technical area. Arsenal’s performance probably made Guardiola’s side (without Aguero, Fernandinho, Gudogan and Kompany) look better than they are.
The conclusion of the game just about summed it up. A free kick awared on the halfway line with seconds left. Cech should have stormed into the City penalty area to offer another body, but elected to take a short kick to Ozil. The referee blew. Shambles. We can only cling onto the hope that there is only another five months of this spiritless Arsenal to endure. At least then, there will be the chance of something different.
The board should go all out to secure Diego Simeone, because that is the type of manager this group of players need. A motivator, an organizer, a tactician. The game has moved on and Arsene has gone backwards. His winning teams had character and resilience to add to technique. Compare Dennis Bergkamp with Mesut Ozil. Nigel Winterburn to Nacho Monreal. Martin Keown to Gabriel. Simeone as Arsenal boss is not going to happen, but it’s what should happen. This isn’t the Gunners those who have been following the club before the stadium move recognize.
Arsene must honour his contract, as the board don’t have the teeth to throw him out on his ear and start the rebuilding process now, so we have to wait until the summer. Mathematically the title race is far from over, but you won’t find many AKBs willing to put their money on Arsenal winning it. You can get 12-1 on that from some bookies this morning.
Bernard Azulay summed it up beautifully on his A Gooner’s Diary blog on the game as a “lifetime sentence of cyclical non-fulfilment”.
I wonder if, should Tony Pulis’ side prove resistant on Boxing Day, the home crowd might finally turn on the manager. At least the end of this seemingly perpetual purgatory is in sight, and that kind of toxicity would certainly make any thoughts of an extension inconceivable. Merry Christmas everybody?
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