[Zizu]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

The head loss is gone, but the performance still isn’t good enough.

This Manchester City side is nowhere near the level of the teams from a few years ago. How many players from this current squad would actually get into the treble‑winning XI? Silva, Haaland and a couple of others were already there, but who has replaced De Bruyne and Gundogan? I’d take Mahrez and peak Grealish over the current options without thinking twice.

This isn’t the strongest City team Arsenal have faced. We can match them player for player, yet we play like we’re terrified of them. Terrified of what, exactly? We kept Haaland quiet today. So why do we still approach the game like we’re intimidated? Where does this mentality come from?

We’ve got Saliba and Gabriel — two of the best one‑v‑one defenders in Europe — defending on the edge of their own box. They should be pushing up, squeezing the pitch, and putting City under pressure. Yes, that gives Haaland more space to run into, but again: we kept him quiet. So why are we scared of taking that risk?

The tactics made no sense. It felt like watching a Gareth Southgate setup. Arteta managed this like there was another leg to come. There isn’t. This is a knockout game — win it or go home — and I didn’t see that urgency from the players or the manager.

City will take momentum from this, but Arsenal need to sort themselves out. If Arteta wins the league playing like this, then fair play — we’re all mugs and he’s a genius. But I don’t see how you get results in one‑off games with this approach. To play this way, you need zero mistakes and a clinical frontline. Neither happened today. Mistakes were made, and Gyökeres and Havertz are never going to be ruthless finishers.

Nice take on things


PS

I’m not a great fan of Gyokores but he put a shift in today