Arsenal 0-0 Man City – Boring City Got What They Came For

I said in yesterday’s preview that I didn’t expect City to park the bus at the Emirates this time, seeing as they were in the title race.  How wrong I was.  As it turns out, City – a team fighting for the title and a Champions League place with a squad that cost about as much as our stadium – seem to have absolutely no interest in winning games.  

The team line up, as expected, had no changes.  It was clear to see that we were feeling energetic as early as the first minute.  City hadn’t yet woken up when Nasri passed to Wilshere just outside the box.  For a split second it looked like Jack might shoot but he chose to pass to Van Persie who only just missed the cross.

But we were in a lively mood and continued to push.  Wilshere took another shot from outside the box but it went straight to Hart.  The keeper seemed to wobble slightly but he managed to keep hold of it.  Then Van Persie twisted and turned to create some space for himself, only to see his shot hit the post.  And all this happened within the first 10 minutes!

The game calmed down slightly after that, but the chances kept coming.  Wilshere again shot at Hart not long after, and then Van Persie’s free kick went over the bar.  Theo also had an effort go wide.  With about half an hour gone on the clock, Nasri made a great pass to Cesc after breaking away from a City corner.  The Captain took the shot, but was really unlucky to hit the post.  Theo caught the rebound and also hit the post, but was flagged offside so it wouldn’t have counted anyway. 

We were controlling the game and so far, it seemed inevitable that we would score.  But after the last effort, the commentator made me a bit panicky when he remarked “Is it going to be one of those days for Arsenal?”  Oh God please don’t let be one of those days!!  The problem was we had needed one of those early chances to go in, because the longer the game went on the more organised and composed City became.

There were still a couple more chances to come in the first half.  Theo thought we should have had a penalty when his cross hit Kompany’s arm, but it probably would have been a bit harsh.  Cesc also had an attempt deflected over.  City did very little in these opening 45 minutes.  Milner shot wide early on, and they had a corner which went to Tevez and was dealt with well by Song.  That’s about all I can remember from them.

In the second half City parked the bus in front of the goal.  Van Persie managed a couple of attempts.  He hit the side netting, and one of his shots was on target but Hart reached it to make an excellent save.  Arshavin came on for Theo, and Bendtner replaced Wilshere but neither sub found a way through.

In the final minute Sagna were both shown straight reds.  Zabaleta brought Sagna to the ground when they got up they locked heads.  Sagna lunged forward at him twice.  It was silly and we can’t have much of an argument against the sending off, except that the game was about to end so surely a yellow and a telling off would have been adequate enough? 

The actions were completely out of character for Sagna so I have to question what Zabaleta did to anger him that much.  Sagna is a calm person – he didn’t even react when that thug Bowyer stamped on his leg, so I find it hard to believe that Zabaleta was the innocent party.  Something must have been said or built up over the game.  Sagna will miss the next three games, but luckily two of those are cup ties that he probably would have missed anyway.  He’s been a star this season, so the rest will probably do him good.

I don’t really understand why Richard Keys on Sky Sports felt the need to bring up how many red cards we have had under Wenger.  I think he said it was 83.  When you consider how many years Wenger has managed the club, it surely only works out to a few a season.  It’s not that bad.  I would love to find out how many United have had under Red Nose.  How come this stat never gets mentioned when any other team has a player sent off?

Van Persie had a final free kick in injury time, but it just wasn’t meant to be.  And that was about it.  It’s hard to criticise any aspect of our performance.  On another day, some of those chances would have probably gone in and I don’t blame the players for slowing down the pace later on.  It must be exhausting to run at a brick wall for 90 minutes…..

The defence all played well although they had very little to do.  I’m pleased to say that Clichy looks like he is almost back to his best, and as for Djourou – what a player he is turning into!  Song was solid as ever, and Van Persie, Jack, Theo, Cesc and Nasri worked hard and did the best they could with so many City players sitting back in the box.

I can understand why Theo was annoyed to be subbed off, but to fair to Le Boss, something had to change to give us any chance of breaking through the brick wall.  We never know if Arshavin will produce a moment of magic to win the game, or completely kill our attack and pace.  Unfortunately, last night he did the latter.  For me, the only criticism I have in our tactics is the fact that Bendtner played out wide when he came on.  It basically rendered him ineffective.

City are a joke, it has to be said.  They were pleased with the result at the end because it was what they came for.  It was obvious that they never had any plans to actually play against us. It’s understandable to park the bus when you are scared of relegation; but it’s pathetic to play like that against another title rival.

I thought before the game that City were serious rivals in the title race.  Now I realise they are still just a bunch of small time losers who happened to win the lottery but have no idea what to do with the winnings.

United will have been pleased with all the results last night, as Chelsea and Sp*rs both lost along with our draw.  It’s a shame we haven’t capitalised on those results but at least it means a point wasn’t too bad.  There’s still a long way to go and United will have to drop points somewhere down the line.  They still have some massive fixtures to face.  If we ignore what the others are doing and continue to play the way we did last night, we will be more than worthy of a trophy or two at the end of the season.

Lots of love

Highbury Honey xxx