Monday Musing
Not pretty, but pretty effective; it's getting worse at the bottom; Fonseca claims big win.
By Patric Ridge
Manchester City salvaged a point in a fiery encounter with Arsenal on Sunday, as John Stones made it 2-2 in the 98th minute.
There was also late drama in the Milan derby — Matteo Gabbia on hand to win it for the Rossoneri.
Meanwhile, are the poorest teams in the Premier League even worse than before?
Here’s the latest Monday Musing column.
LIKE A ROLLING STONE(S)
For the vast majority of the second half at the Etihad Stadium, Man City looked like they had run out of ideas.
Arsenal, down to 10 men after Leandro Trossard was sent off on the stroke of half-time for a somewhat contentious second yellow, had made their plan clear from the moment the match restarted.
The Gunners camped in their own box, restricting the space and hoping the defence that was the meanest in the Premier League last season held its own against City’s fearsome attack.
Mikel Arteta’s side were leading 2-1 thanks to Riccardo Calafiori’s stunner and Gabriel Magalhaes’ towering header, with those goals having cancelled out Erling Haaland’s early opener — his 100th Man City goal in only his 105th appearance for the club.
David Raya kept City at bay when Arsenal’s defence did creak, though it really did look like the Gunners would hold firm and end their Etihah hoodoo until, right at the death, Stones steered in after latching onto a deflected shot from Mateo Kovacic.
Stones told Sky Sports afterwards that City know to expect the dark arts when Arsenal rock up, while Bernardo Silva suggested the Gunners tend to turn up and make the beautiful game, ugly.
"I don't know if they've mastered [the dark arts] – we know what to expect, you can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it.
"They break up the game, it upsets the rhythm for everyone, they used it to their advantage and I thought we dealt with it really well. It's not easy when those things happen, when you try to get level, but we controlled our emotions really well.”
John Stones, Sky Sports
But, so what?
Arsenal might have had two players (Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber) who failed to complete a pass, but they were just seconds away from beating the champions and taking some early impetus in a long, arduous title race.
Arteta calling his team’s performance “a miracle” might be a step too far, but defensive solidity is nothing to be sniffed at, no matter how it is achieved.
It was City’s task to break Arsenal down, and eventually the pressure told. But the Gunners were never going to come flying out of the blocks, especially once Trossard had been dismissed.
Perhaps this rivalry will never replicate the high-octane, free-flowing style that was on show for years between Pep Guardiola’s City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, but yesterday’s tussle was truly intriguing in its own right.
IT’S GETTING WORSE
From the top, we go to the bottom.
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