Arsenal 0 - 2 Manchester City: Arsenal screw themselves over inside 10 minutes.

First Half

The game was going to hard enough with a full compliment of players. We were well capable of getting a good result but with our inconsistent attacking and City's strong defence, the game was always going to be hard.

Going down to ten men inside ten minutes made the task near impossible.

The anger at Mike Dean is understandable due to the record we have when he's officiated our games. It's an appalling record and one that makes you wonder if we're just that unfortunate or if something more sinister is going on. However, he made the right decisions, by the letter of the law.

The rule is that if a player impedes a goalscoring opportunity, it's a professional foul and therefore a straight red card. So first we have to look at whether it was a goalscoring opportunity. The ball dropped near the six yard box and Dzeko had turned to get on the end of it. It's a goalscoring chance, even if he has work to do still.

Secondly, was it a foul by Koscielny? He's put both arms around him and is holding him back. Unfortunately, no matter how soft it may appear, that's a foul.

By the letter of the law, then, it's a red card and a penalty. The rule itself I don't agree with and think should be changed, because a penalty and red card is far too harsh a punishment for something as soft as a playing holding another player. But this is a debate for another time.

Szczesny saves Dzeko's penalty and we're still in the game. We have ten men and 80 minutes to play, but we were still in the game. At that point, we had to quickly get ourselves organised and focused. Did we? Simple answer is no.

The first goal is a classic case of defence falling asleep. Nobody makes a move when City play the free-kick quickly and they play their way in behind with ease. The finish from Milner was very good, but it's a very avoidable goal. Firstly, somebody should be organising the players and making sure they're alert and ready, but nobody did it for us. Secondly, Vermaelen has his back turned to play, so he can't see Milner make a move in behind and by the time he does, he's no where near him.

Vermaelen is the captain and supposed leader at the back, so he should be the one talking to everyone and getting them organised. It's very poor from him to not even be paying attention when the free-kick is taken.

1-0 down, Arsenal were rattled, which perhaps lead to the second goal. Nobody stops the ball going into the box, nobody has Dzeko marked at the back post and, inevitably, it's a goal. You can't blame the goalkeeper here because the shot was from point-blank and it's very difficult to steer the ball away from the strikers in that situation.

Two goals and a man down at half time, Arsenal needed a miracle.

Second Half

We showed a lot of fight and spirit in the second half but encountered a very familiar problem of not being able to create enough chances.

It's hard enough to create chances with 11 men. With 10 men, you just couldn't see where the chances were going to come from. Walcott, who needs balls he can run onto, was robbed of any service because every midfielder was deep, trying to get the ball back from City. Nobody could press because it would have created too many gaps. With Cazorla on one side and Podolski on the other, we had no one who could really carry the ball forward with pace and directness.

Wenger changed things up by bringing on Ramsey and Giroud and playing 4-3-2 and while this made us look a bit better, it only produced one chance of note: Ramsey threading a beautiful pass for Walcott, who had his shot blocked on the line.

City defended well and, to be honest, if they had played better they could have given us a hiding. Even when they went down to ten men, they still kept their composure and shape. Their response was considerably better than our own.

2-0 the final score.

January set to not get any better

The remaining fixtures this month are:

Swansea - Home, FA Cup
Chelsea - Away, League
West Ham - Home, League
Brighton (if we beat ) - Away, FA Cup
Liverpool - Home, League

We have the ability to get good results in those games but with two mid-week games, a potential weekend cup game and two games against our rivals coming thick and fast, I have doubts about our squad's ability to be able to put in standard of performance required.

Our bench today really highlighted the lack of depth in the squad. Arteta and Gervais were the only forced absentees, yet we only had two attacking players on the bench. Rosicky was mysteriously absent, though even if you counted him, we'd still be short of options on the flank or up front.

This doesn't give us a lot of scope for rotation in the coming weeks and we all know how well we perform when we're tired and jaded.

It goes without saying we need some extra bodies to help us, because right now, between our lack of depth, defensive blunders and offensive impotency, our chances of a top four finish are getting smaller and smaller.

At risk of sounding fatalistic, if we have a bad month and don't sign anyone, confidence could quickly plummet to dangerously low levels.

A game of what IFs.

I really believe if it was 11 vs 11 we coulda got something outta the game, we really looked up for it in the second half and i wondered what an extra player could have done for us. That red card i thought was stupid, Kos didn't deny a clear goalscoring opportunity but the penalty and a yellow would have been just. It was a foul.

Anyways for positives......We looked very much up for it after the first half, we had a lot of desire. Vermaelen i thought played very well, as well as Wilshere.

Walcott did jack all (apart from that shot stopped at the line), but tbf same goes for Giroud, he was very wasteful today. Ramsey looks to be gaining some sort of form. He's been ok in the last 2 games, couldn't fault him for anything. Diaby though i thought played not so good, but he's been out for a while and to be thrown into a game of this profile, it was always going to be tough for him.

Tough result. A second half effort of which fans can take some very, very qualified encouragement, but it should never have gotten to that point to begin with (and that's the persistent problem with this squad). Wilshere played with heart. Also Ramsey put in a quite decent half-hour shift - I hope his detractors will give him his due. That pass to Walcott was beautiful.

In addition to the generally poor crossing we've seen from Arsenal for years now, is it me or has this season been marked by a big increase in passes behind the players ... just a general feeling, but it seems like we're seeing a lot of diagonal or slightly forward passes that aren't quite fast or forward enough. Which leads to a break-up in tempo; the squad are helping shoot themselves in the foot sometimes.

Ramsey was good today

Mike Dean is such an a**hole.

We missed Arteta. Even with 11 men they broke through our midfield on quite few occasions with neither Diaby nor Wilshere having a clue who to mark or who to track.

But this shows how poor we are in the midfield department. A DM has to come in. Even James McCarthy would do.

After going down to 10 men it was never in our hands till the 2nd half. We showed great character and Wilshere was unplayable. Shame he was the only one giving a shit all game.

Must say i am genuinly worried about our top 4 credentials. We are not good enough. We don't have RVP to bail us out. We don't have Redknapp to flop.

Need reinforcements asap

i am content with our second half performance..
we showed some passion and character.. we managed to create some chances too..
i thought the red card was a 50-50.. cant say that the referee is wrong... but he was poor whole match and got many decisions wrong..
very poor performances from Walcott and Cazorla..
I dont want to see Walcott at CF anymore.. we were a man down, still Walcott didnt move or try to involve in the game.. we were playing with 9 men the first half.. it was only when Giroud came and he shifted wide we looked ok..
i dont know what is wrong with Cazorla..
poor performances fom Sagna and Gibbs.. Gibbs is no where good when it comes to 1vs1 defending or marking.. Vermaelen did ok.. Metskr was slow and his clearances often invited trouble..
Wilshere was the only driving force..
Giroud worked hard but he wasted a free header and his touches and passing were poor..
Podolski showed great energy in the first half.. Diaby was average but it proved again that physical presence does matter.. our midfield was not overrun despite being one man down.. Ramsey too had a decent game as CM..
Sczeny - 6
Sagna - 4
Vermaelen - 6
Metskr - 5
Gibbs - 4
Diaby - 5
Wilshere - 6
Cazorla - 4
Ramsey 6
Podolski -6
Walcott - 4
Giroud -5

Unfotunately the red card killed the game off. But it was the right decision. Was a lil better in the 2nd half, but never created much.

As for Komopany's red... I thought it was a bit unfair. Dickhead Dean forced into that decision due to the home fans being all over his back.

If Kos had gone in with a late tackle and tripped him instead, it would have been a yellow and a penalty....

How did mr. flop Javi Garcia peform tonight?

Can someone, juz anyone, please tell me why the feck Cazorla keeps on starting when we have Rozza????? He's been doing nothing these past few games

Walcott at CF against better teams

Walcott at CF against Non premier league teams

El Gunner wrote:Can someone, juz anyone, please tell me why the feck Cazorla keeps on starting when we have Rozza????? He's been doing nothing these past few games

i think Rosicky is not completely fit.. still for some strange reasons he is on the bench for most of the games.. Btw, today he was not on the bench..

My thoughts on:

Koscielny red/pen incident: Thought it was a stonewall penalty, but the thing that annoys me, is that this sort of grabbing, man-handling, happens every week in most leagues, and nothing is given. Think back 3 years when Lucio and Samuel wrestled Drogba every second of the game and no penalties were given hence the infamous "It's a f***ing disgrace" Drogba reaction. As for a red, I've watched the incident back, and Koscielny is slightly last man, so by the letter of the law, yes it's a red, however, considering Vermaelen wasn't far away, and Szczesny punched the ball anyway, it was harsh.

Milner goal: Dreadful goal to conceded, regardless of 10 or 11 men on pitch. Silva with a fine pass inside Podolski and Mliner, with Vermaelen not even watching, fires a superb shot past Szczesny. We're a little unlucky because I can't remember Milner doing that before too many times, but of course, in the Premier League, stuff like this can happen. We need to be 'awake' at all times and switched on.

Dzeko goal: Gibbs loses a tackle on the left, Milner has space to run into, crosses for Tevez, who's effort is saved by the excellent Szczesny, and unmarked Dzeko has an open goal. Was Mertesacker tight enough? Where was Vermaelen? Should Podolski have been helping out Gibbs more? All I know, it was another weak goal to concede.

Kompany red: Not a red for me. Photo evidence on twitter shows it wasn't a two-footed tackle and the one foot that was in the tackle was barely off the floor. Very harsh. Not surprised Mancini confirmed they'll be appealing the card.

Reaction in second half: I was pleased with our reaction in the second half. We never actually looked like making it 1-2, until Walcott's late chance which Lescott cleared. Giroud didn't have the impact I hoped he would, though Ramsey impressed in a brief cameo.

Diaby: Some nice moments in the first half, showing the player we've missed, but as the game went on, it was evident this was a guy who had played 1 hour in 14 weeks before today. A big boost he came through well with an hour under his belt, he'll be needed with Arteta's 3-week injury.

Week ahead: Swansea on Wednesday, Chelsea on Sunday. Two very tough games lie ahead. We're a club who - despite winning 4 of last 6 in the league - are low in confidence, suffering injuries/suspensions now, and have a tough schedule coming up. I'd suspect the likes of Chamberlain, Giroud, Ramsey, Coquelin, Jenkinson may all start v Swansea.

Transfer window: If it wasn't imperative to sign players before today, it is now. Arteta's 3-week injury (which we know by experience could be 3 months in theory) and Rosicky's worrying sudden disappearance, combined with the departures of Chamakh, Djourou and Gervinho, and probable exits of Arshavin and Squillaci surely highlights the need for new faces.

No shame in losing 7 vs 11, Walcott, Cazorla and Giroud were useless once again.

We have no depth, Wenger was clueless for the whole game.

Proud of those who tried.

Wilshere and Verminator were playing from thier hearts. Wilshere did everything he had and so did verminator. So glad to see them both getting to thier old forms. The game itself was a big disappointment and i hope Wenger do something about it.

If it makes you guys feel any better you're reaction to going down to 10 men was still better than the Spurs reaction to going down to 10 in the NLD.

Oh, Vermaelen sucks.

Still better than Gallas

Raptorgunner wrote:No shame in losing 7 vs 11

I counted 12 for City. You forgot Mike Dean, but that's ok, such an insignificant human being shouldn't be counted anyway

Lex wrote:Still better than Gallas

Raptorgunner wrote:No shame in losing 7 vs 11

I counted 12 for City. You forgot Mike Dean, but that's ok, such an insignificant human being shouldn't be counted anyway

Dick head Dean ruined the whole game, a Yellow and Penalty would have been just fine.

Wenger = Dean both are killing Arsenal.

Wenger Knows Best ‏@wengerknowsbest
I feel today's result was little bit harsh. Apart from a gulf in quality, class, belief and goals there was not a lot in it.

MJGunner wrote:Wenger Knows Best ‏@wengerknowsbest
I feel today's result was little bit harsh. Apart from a gulf in quality, class, belief and goals there was not a lot in it.

Bayren will eat us alive.

tbf I think Chelsea were thinking the same thing about playing Barca when they sucked in the league last year.

Theo Walcott played the full 95 minutes and had only 18 touches.

MJGunner wrote:tbf I think Chelsea were thinking the same thing about playing Barca when they sucked in the league last year.

Well yeah, but we can barely defend .