Arsenal suffered a predictable and fairly dull defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
No one really expected anything other than a defeat this weekend, as City tried to bounce back from a shock against Newcastle and Arsenal travelled without a number of key defensive and midfield players thanks to injury. Still, that’s no excuse for how straightforward it all was for City.
The Gunners actually gave the hosts a pretty good first half, but a goal right before half-time killed the game, and both teams may as well have taken the remaining 45 minutes off.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
2Midfield
Alex Iwobi 4
Iwobi made a mistake in the first minute by trying to carry the ball out of his own box instead of just clearing it, and it led to Manchester City’s opening goal. After that, he didn’t have much impact on the game at all, positive or negative. He was never more or less than solid on the ball, and he didn’t offer much cover to the defence.
Lucas Torreira 6
Torreira won a few good free-kicks to release some of the pressure on Arsenal. He also created a couple of chances, and made a few vital interceptions, though he lost the majority of his individual duels, which was disappointing for him.
Matteo Guendouzi 8
Guendouzi was Arsenal’s man of the match by far. His passing was excellent all game, but particularly in the first half, during which he didn’t misplace a single attempt. His long balls all found their targets, and he completed a couple of dribbles.
The 19-year-old also won a couple of free-kicks, like Torreira. The one negative was that he still isn’t as switched on defensively, letting City players run in behind him at times. Hopefully, that will come with more experience.
Sead Kolasinac 4
The idea of using Kolasinac as a left-midfielder rather than a full-back wasn’t a terrible one, and he did pick up a few good positions offensively. His final ball was nowhere near as good as it has been this season in general though. The Bosnian defender struggled more than anyone else finding a teammate to pass to.
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