We had Saka out for the whole match, Martinelli was half fit and came on 2nd half and our central midfield anchor was Jorginho. So both teams were missing players and Saka is unquestionably our best attacker.
All I wanted to point out in my original post is that kind of dour gritty performance was beyond Arsenal last year but this year they can win ugly. I didn't say Arsenal were better than City so this isn't a willy waving exercise. Merely pointing out the differences between last year that's all.You are free to dream but...you barely created any good chances against a team without vital players like Stones, Rodri and KDB plus Dias, Grealish and Kovacic in poor form, Doku new to the league, etc., and needed a deflection to score a late goal. The Ake chance in the first half was better than all your chances combined. Ake was unfortunate in that game, shit happens. You hope you have improved, City move on and prepare to show what City can do. Time will tell.
Good job in these temperatures, it's like a walnut whip.I didn't say Arsenal were better than City so this isn't a willy waving exercise.
That was the day they won the league wasn't it.I think Gary’s memory of last year is a little faulty. They absolutely had some crappy performances and still got wins last year. One of the most notable was the win in the 97th minute against Bournemouth on a Reiss Nelson goal for Arensal. I think Arsenal is largely the same level of team they were last year.
I think Gary’s memory of last year is a little faulty.
All I wanted to point out in my original post is that kind of dour gritty performance was beyond Arsenal last year but this year they can win ugly. I didn't say Arsenal were better than City so this isn't a willy waving exercise. Merely pointing out the differences between last year that's all.
Yeah. I still think we'll finish 2nd behind City as City have more gears than us to go up but re the strengths this season vs last, last year we could smash teams offensively but going up against the counter attacking sides (eg Man Utd) or teams like City who were even better offensively we would come up short. Case in point the match at the Emirates vs City last year. Many City fans think City smashed Arsenal because of the scoreline but the reality is Arsenal had more possession and some excellent half chances, more than City. But when City needed it they had that extra quality via KDB, Haaland etc to take the type of chance that Arsenal wouldn't have been able to take.Fair play. The question is whether Arsenal have added that quality to the strengths they already had or at the expense of another valuable quality. There are trade-offs. Will be interesting. In any case, I prefer Arsenal to win if we don't. Think Arsenal have a better team than Liverpool but these play with more confidence. The game in 3 weeks will be telling.
The one where people say daft shit and we then draw 3 games in a row.What title race?