The best of times and the worst of times! Absolutely filthily gorgeous and absolutely cravenly abject! You are perfectly normal if as an Arsenal fan, you’re sitting with your hands in your head and muttering under your breath while the rest of the world wants to commit you to section 12. We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? If there is a side that finds ways of giving up cheap goals, surely it is Arsenal after producing glorious football for theirs. No wonder City can afford headlines like we can survive without Yaya Toure. Because Arsenal, that’s why.
A side that fights back after Jack Wilshere’s sensational finish (dragging the ball past Clichy with his left foot and then with great self awareness and control chipping the ball with his right over Joe Hart) following a lush landscape of intertwined passing. Then going up through Alexis Sanchez’s sweetly struck volley. Those were the great moments. There were plenty of other positives. Danny Welbeck’s first match in produced an almost great moment and he gave plenty to think with his movement. Wilshere’s sharpness on the ball. Sanchez’s omnipotence and never say die attitude. Calum Chambers stepping in admirably for Mathieu Debuchy. Plenty of promising stuff in the final third.
All those come with a capitalized disclaimer. FOLLOWING ARSENAL MAY BE INJURIOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. That Debuchy injury did not look good. It did not look good at all. He could be gone for a considerable amount of time further depleting our already thin defensive ranks. Flamini maybe a yapping little terrier but he does not compare to a genuine holding midfielder like Fernandinho. Allowing a lethal customer like Kun Aguero to slip past him for City’s opener after getting robbed of the ball. The Arsenal defense going to sleep and allowing Martin Demichelis to amble in for the equalizer. That was just criminal. Oezil looking drained of confidence and energy. Ramsey showing signs of an old malaise. Monreal again showing he’s not up to standard with Jesus Navas motoring down at will. The disorganized nature of Arsenal’s backfield going through the ringer to stop the ball and to see it out to safety.
Throughout there was this nagging feeling of Wenger once again dropping the ball, of not going in for one or two more defensive players and a holding midfielder who could drop anchor. How much more masochism can he take? Or is it insanity? Why does he stick Oezil out on the flanks where he’s as effective as a lump of clay? The man gets brutally squeezed and his lack of composure doesn’t help any. Why wait so late for your substitutions? The midfield is the one area Arsenal can comfortably rotate.
If at the end you have more questions than answers, surely that cannot be a good sign going forward. Given all that a draw was most acceptable.
For the highlights/lowlights: