I couldn’t be prouder of that team performance!
After some time of reflection, most Gooners will agree that we achieved something bordering on miraculous against Man city this weekend, in a firery encounter at the Etihad where it got physical in the opening 5 seconds of the encounter. Remarkably this game had everything in it, from a red card to a dramatically late equalizer and everything in between, the game had it all.
The Citizens opened the scoring through record breaker Erling Haaland from a Riccardo Calafiori error that left our backline scrambling, it didn’t take long however for the Italian to make amends with a beautiful curling finish from the edge of the box in what would have been a dream full debut for him.
We soon took the lead from another well worked set piece and another superb Gabriel header, we were flying and potentially 45 mins away from dealing City their first home loss since 2022.
However disaster struck late in the first half when Trossard was sent off for a second bookable offence for delaying the restart. The game was ruined from there on in my opinion, with Arsenal forced to sit deep in what was 5-4 or 6-3 formation for the entirety of the second 45. City had a few chances, but we defended admirably. However our hearts were broken deep into stoppage time when we were caught out by City’s quick corner which eventually led to a goal from John Stones, Agony!
Not many teams do that to Man City, what we did in that second half was truly inspiring, though pinned back deeper than expected, we still managed to frustrate arguably the best club in the world four much of the half, even forcing the uncharacteristic recycling of sideways passes from the City rear guard. We were so impressive in our low block that it also forced them to take more rash shots from distance which is something that they usually don’t do often. They didn’t get too many clear cut chances, but they kept knocking on the door and despite our best efforts the pressure was just too much to handle at the end. But what I saw was this Man City celebrating nicking a point at the end just shows what a long way we’ve come, and that should just let them know that we’ll not be going anywhere in the race for the title anytime soon.
Honestly this felt like a loss after the great effort put in by the boys in this unfortunate circumstance however, after a bit of reflection, it is a very good point on the road despite the red card and the absentees for the game as well. This will not define our season because the season defining game will be the reverse fixture later this season in our own backyard, and Arsenal will hopefully have key players back so we can hopefully get a win over the line.
KENNETH BENJAMIN
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