Arsenal went to Manchester City and lost, just like we all expected them to.

Unfortunately, just because we expected a defeat, doesn’t mean we can accept it or excuse the players for their poor performances.

That the scoreline wasn’t worse was a reflection of City’s wastefulness during the game. Arsenal offered some fight but there was never any genuine hope of a comeback. All City had to do was flex their muscles and their two goal lead was restored.

So, goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus gave a City a routine victory over a plucky visiting side. Alexandre Lacazette got a consolation goal off the bench to make the scoreline a little more respectable.

Here’s how the team got on.

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Defence

Petr Cech 4

He got a hand to De Bruyne’s shot on the first goal and might have saved had it been 2007 and not 2017. Unfortunately, this is the Cech we’re stuck with now. He pulled off a couple of good saves, but the feeling of complete security with him in goal is gone now. Also, add another one to his tally of unsaved penalties.

Francis Coquelin 6

If we were all surprised to see Coquelin named in the starting line-up, we were flummoxed to see him starting in the middle of the the back three. We’ll never work out what Wenger’s thinking was here. Yet, somehow, Coquelin wasn’t even the worst player on the pitch. He was actually quite good. With plenty of ground to cover, he was able to run around and slide in to his heart’s content. He stopped a number of counter-attacks. If he wasn’t such a liability on the ball, he’d be a genuine option for the first team.

Laurent Koscielny 5

The captain on the day kept his composure when Arsenal were pushing forward to get back into the game. He stepped in to make a number of interceptions. Unfortunately, he was one of the defenders who stood there appealing for offside instead of marking someone during City’s third goal.

Nacho Monreal 4

Not even Monreal could sort out this mess. The Spaniard wasn’t at his best, and will have been disappointed to concede a penalty so early in the second half.

Next up, midfield

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