Defending like this puts your chances of winning at somewhere around zero. Mikel Arteta had claimed Arsenal’s results do not match the percentages but no amount of casuistry would have made his numbers stack up here. There should usually be limited use in obsessing over a match between heavily-rotated sides but this one handily reinforced what we already knew: that Arsenal show no sign of shedding a capacity to self-destruct that has already all-but crippled their season.
Manchester City deserve credit for a faster, more assertive attacking performance than most of their offerings of recent months. They were convincing winners and look good for a fourth successive Carabao Cup win but the manner of their second goal spoke volumes about the often shambolic nature of what they were up against.
In pre-season Arteta agonised over the merits of two supremely competent goalkeepers, Emiliano Martínez and Bernd Leno, before letting the former leave for Aston Villa. Martínez’s replacement, Alex Rúnarsson, was given a chance to show he could meet the demands of a big occasion and fell badly short. He had already been beaten to the ball for Gabriel Jesus’s opener when, with the scores level, Riyad Mahrez sized up a 54th-minute free-kick slightly outside the box. Mahrez excels in these positions but his shot, while firm, was down Rúnarsson’s throat.
The Icelander reacted late to the ball flying in his direction and, flapping his hands up, only succeeded in pawing it over his shoulder and in. “I was surprised at the positioning of the keeper, he was so close to his post,” Mahrez said. Rúnarsson had got that aspect right but flunked the elementary part and there was scant prospect of Arsenal recovering from there.
In fairness they had already gathered themselves once, which is why the error was so deflating. For half an hour City put on something approaching a masterclass, denying Arsenal any semblance of extended possession. They had been struggling for fluency but came up against opponents who bolster others’ egos on demand, and Jesus was particularly appreciative given he had not scored for seven games.
City were unhindered when Phil Foden found Oleksandr Zinchenko scampering to the left byline with Cédric Soares slow to react. Zinchenko’s cross was a peach and Jesus, darting between Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Magalhães, got there ahead of Rúnarsson’s attempt to punch. It had only taken 124 seconds to reduce Arsenal to an unsightly tableau of statues and flailing arms.
At that point the probability of a home win looked infinitesimal but when Arteta’s side equalised with their first moment of serious threat, it felt significant given the identity of the architect. Gabriel Martinelli was starting for the first time since injuring his left knee in June and despite hardly a sniff of the ball early on, he managed to give a sense of being heavily involved. Given a chance to make something happen he clipped over an enticing left-foot delivery that a stooping Alexandre Lacazette headed adroitly beyond Zack Steffen.
Arteta felt Arsenal were superior for the following 20 minutes; they certainly stepped up a gear even though Rúnarsson, channeling his better side, saved superbly from Jesus. Perhaps they would have found another way through if Martinelli, racing Steffen to a through ball, had not taken a nasty knock to a shin before half-time. It was a surprise to see him re-emerge for the second half, having told Arteta he wanted to carry on, but two minutes later he pulled up and was swiftly replaced. Greater caution might have been in order given the length of his recent absence, although the damage seems to have been relatively slight. “He plays the game in a different way to any other player,” Arteta said, and how Arsenal need more of that approach. In his cameo, Martinelli operated with zeal and intent that shame the season-long offerings produced by some of his teammates.
The timing of Rúnarsson’s subsequent embarrassment almost felt cruel in that context. It was the cue for City to enjoy themselves once again and they quickly pulled further ahead with a goal that had its own element of slapstick. Arsenal were on the attack but Dani Ceballos hammered an attempted through pass against the back of Joe Willock.
Eventually Fernandinho played Foden through for a clipped finish beyond Rúnarsson, who had ventured out in hope rather than expectation. Had VAR been in use it would probably have ruled Foden marginally offside. Pep Guardiola, who was supportive to Arteta afterwards, sympathised with that view although his friend could take scant comfort from such kindness.
Aymeric Laporte wrapped up things with a header after Foden, who had an excellent game, crossed from the right. City had found their groove at a venue that is nowadays highly conducive to that; Arteta needs Arsenal’s pattern of misery to change if the odds are not to mount against him to a degree nobody would query.
Match stats
Possession
| 58 | 42 |
MNC58ARS42%
Goal attempts
4ArsenalOff target6Man City2ArsenalOn target7Man CityCorners15Fouls97
Lineups
Arsenal
- 13 Runarsson
- 20 Mustafi
- 6 Gabriel
- 31 Kolasinac
- 17 Cedric
- 25 Elneny
- 8 Ceballos
- 15 Maitland-Niles
- 28 Willock
- 9 Lacazette
- 35 Martinelli
Substitutes
- 1 Leno
- 3 Tierney
- 19 Pepe (s 49′)
- 22 Pablo Mari
- 30 Nketiah
- 32 Smith-Rowe (s 66′)
- 38 Balogun (s 77′)
Man City
- 13 Steffen
- 27 Joao Cancelo
- 3 Dias
- 14 Laporte
- 11 Zinchenko
- 16 Rodri
- 25 Fernandinho
- 26 Mahrez
- 20 Bernardo Silva
- 47 Foden
- 9 Gabriel Jesus
Substitutes
- 2 Walker (s 77′)
- 5 Stones
- 7 Sterling
- 8 Gundogan
- 10 Aguero (s 74′)
- 21 Torres (s 70′)
- 31 Ederson
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