The press are peddling the line that Arsenal were firmly in control in the first half but wilted in the face of City's second half onslaught, when Gusrdiola realised pretty-pretty football had to give way to good old English physicality to overcome Arsenal's foreign softies. There followed analysis after analysis of how Arsenal were sabotaged by the ref as they threw the game away. This is not the game any of us watched.
Guardiola teams have never simply played pretty-pretty football and City don't. They didn't convert to physicality during halftime either. City play high energy, intense, possession-based pressing football. For 45 minutes yesterday the high energy, the intensity and the pressing were missing. Arsenal's goal was the best example- a full back allowed to run 60 yards, two other players move the ball into our area and Walcott puts it in without a City player getting within 5 yards of any of them! Bravo did what he always seems to do in a one-on-one - go down to his left far too early. It was the missing ingredients which had destroyed United, which had not given Messi & co a sniff for over an hour and which had tortured Chelsea for an hour which came back in the second half.
But Arsenal were beaten tactically as well. The MEN has failed to grasp this by asking what Pep has got against Iheanacho. The answer is - nothing at all. But in Barcelona he left Sergio out for greater solidity in midfield, and yesterday he left out Iheanacho to pack the midfield. I think the explanation is quite simple. Arsenal - like Barcelona- pass the ball well and play through midfield. Pep wanted numerical superiority there to deny Arsenal the ball and marginalise Sanchez and Walcott. Now, this clearly won't work without the intense press. In the second half City pressed in packs, isolated the Arsenal lad with the ball and the Gooners didn't launch an attack of note. But City also had two wide men of frightening pace, who, much of the time, did keep the chalk on their boots. This stretched Arsenal's back line across the pitch but also forced Arsenal to try and counter their pace by dropping ever deeper. Two lines of four in a decent defensive formation gave way to isolated front men unable to link with midfielders unable to keep the ball or shield a beleaguered back four. City's back four, so vulnerable early on, we're given excellent protection because Arsenal were denied time and good ball in midfield and couldn't move it forward, and so our lads could move forward to make interceptions or tackles. We were never turned and no-one was allowed to run at us with the ball.
I think the comeback was a triumph for Silva, KdB, Sané, Sterling and YaYa but most of all for Pep. He drew up the blue print for success but for 45 minutes the lads only put half of it into practice. In the second half we got nearly the whole package and it was impressive. That is Pep's mission - to get us playing Guardiola football for 90 minutes a game, 65 games a season.
