You kind of know with City when it’s going to be a long night, within a matter of minutes of the start of the game. One criticism you can aim at pep is that he has a poor record of recovery from going behind. We are one-dimensional and so if it ain’t working at the start, tough ‘cos it ain’t changing and the game is gonna end that way.
Our eye-wateringly expensive defence is a shambles and we desperately need a backup for Aguero as Jesus cannot do it on his own. He puts plenty of effort in, but needs A N Other alongside him.
As for tonight, no-one had a good game. Walker left his man for the first goal and Mendy kept getting caught out. AL was unusually poor and Garcia was shown not to have the pace required. Very young though and so we should cut him some slack.
Passes going astray and a slow attack played right into the hands of Arsenal’s shaky defence! We made them look worth the kind of money that our defence cost.
We just looked bereft of ideas and resorted to constantly pumping aimless balls into the box. Not a good idea for one of the smallest, if not the smallest, teams in the division.
Clearout needed and the names on my list would be Zinchenko, Mendy, Cancelo, Stones, Otamendi, Gundogan. Trouble is, they’re all on huge wages and hence difficult to get rid of. Plus, when City come knocking for replacements, the starting point for negotiation is £50m. Personally would prefer building for the future with the right players, rather than finished-article superstars whom may or may not take well to the league. Can’t afford a couple more Cancelos, or god forbid, another Mangala!!!