3 positives & negatives from huge Manchester City win

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<p>&mdash; Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1711078088958718236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <h2>Positive #1: Declan Rice</h2> <p>Rice was arguably our <a title="Arsenal 1-0 Man City: Player ratings as Gunners end City hoodoo" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/08/arsenal-1-0-man-city-player-ratings/" rel="">best player in the match</a> and demonstrated exactly why the club were happy to spend upwards of &pound;100m on the midfielder in the summer. Interceptions, tackles, desire, and most impressively, his excellent goal-line clearance to keep the score level in the first half.</p> <p>That is now two big games this season, against both Manchester clubs, in which the 24-year-old has excelled and helped drive the side to an important victory. Rice&#8217;s Arsenal career is still in its infancy, but he has certainly hit the ground running.</p> <h2>Negative #1: Nervy start</h2> <p>Rather than single out Raya individually for his first-half performance, as he did improve in the second half, I am going to focus on the nervy start from the team as a whole in the early stages.</p> <p>Raya&#8217;s passing was not to his usual standard, nor was his cross-collection, however, those ahead of him did him no favours by repeatedly playing the ball back to the Spaniard. We struggled for control of the game, and in parts, certainly displayed some of the immaturity that underpinned our end-of-season collapse last campaign.</p> <p>Fortunately, City were not at their free-flowing best and we managed to ride the storm and improve after the break.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide&#8230;</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;#2 positive and negative </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136878" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136878" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2022,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1713195434-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="2022" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713195434-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713195434-768x607.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713195434-1536x1213.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713195434-2048x1618.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal’s centre-backs were excellent on Sunday. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Positive #2: Defensive solidity</h2> <p>Finally, we have kept a Premier League clean sheet at the Emirates this season – and what a game to record it in.</p> <p>Despite our nervy start, other than the effort that forced a clearance from Rice, Man City were unable to create anything clear-cut in front of goal. This was true even more so in the second half, during which our increased control of the match made it far easier for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who were excellent in this match, to marshall Erling Haaland.</p> <p>We limited the reigning champions to just one shot target, and that is a testament to the focus of every single player on the pitch and their desire to be more solid in our defensive third.</p> <h2>Negative #2: No Bukayo Saka</h2> <p>However, despite the nature of the win, there is still one cloud hanging over the game, and that is the fact that Saka was unable to make even the bench after he <a title="Bukayo Saka’s latest injury must be a wake-up call for Mikel Arteta" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/bukayo-sakas-latest-injury-must-wake-call-mikel-arteta/" rel="">limped off against RC Lens midweek.</a></p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">87 – Bukayo Saka will miss a Premier League game for <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@Arsenal for the first time since May 2021 against Newcastle, ending a run of 87 consecutive appearances, which was the longest ongoing run in the competition. Absent. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://t.co/dNzWxgO7ka">pic.twitter.com/dNzWxgO7ka

<p>— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1711028297197330828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>After the game, Mikel Arteta <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1711082052064247912">confirmed that the winger will not link up with the England squad during the upcoming international break, which should hopefully mean he will be fresh and eager to return to the squad when club football returns.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136890" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136890" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1665,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1713186989-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1665" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713186989-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713186989-768x499.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713186989-1536x999.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1713186989-2048x1332.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal finally beat a Pep Guardiola-led City in the Premier League. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Positive #3: A victory against Manchester City</h2> <p>Eight years, 12 games – that is how long it had been since our last Premier League victory against Manchester City. As a result, this victory is huge not just because of the potential implications it may have on this season’s title race, but also because of the wider context mentioned above.</p> <p>We have now faced Manchester City twice this campaign, and have emerged victorious on both occasions. Arteta, as will we all, will now hope that those results, this one in particular, can provide the players with the confidence and belief they need to improve on the second-placed finish last term.</p> <h2>Negative #3: Officiating</h2> <p>I don’t like to moan about referees in these pieces, and ultimately the decision in question did not prevent us from winning the game. But, the decision to not show Mateo Kovacic a straight red card for his challenge on Martin Odegaard, and then to not show the Croatian a second yellow for another reckless challenge just minutes later, is, in my opinion, a very poor one to the say the least.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="77QDtW0UkF"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/08/arsenal-1-0-man-city-player-ratings/">Arsenal 1-0 Man City: Player ratings as Gunners end City hoodoo</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Arsenal 1-0 Man City: Player ratings as Gunners end City hoodoo” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/09/3-positives-negatives-huge-manchester-city-win/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/08/arsenal-1-0-man-city-player-ratings/embed/#?secret=LfvyZUGFmq#?secret=77QDtW0UkF" data-secret="77QDtW0UkF" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div> <p>On another day, that decision may have cost us the three points, and it was yet another example of VAR lacking any real consistency with its decisions.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">