Manchester City 2
Arsenal 2
Of course we would have taken a draw if it had been offered to us before kick-off; a point away at Pep Guardiola’s City is seldom a bad result.
And yet, coming away from the Etihad on Sunday night with just a point to show for our efforts felt deflating and much more like a defeat than any draw should.
That is, in part, because of the agonisingly last-minute timing of the equaliser after what had been an heroic 50 minutes of blood and guts defending. But it’s also about the gnawing feeling of injustice that, once again, hangs over an Arsenal result like a foul smell.
Is it too much to ask for one result that isn’t influence by a match official? One untainted 90 minutes of football?
The match was handed to Michael Oliver, supposedly PGMOL’s top official, in the expectation that he would keep a lid on proceedings without fear or favour. In the event, however, he ended up being one of the main talking points, just like so many of his colleagues.
His decision to award a second yellow card to Leandro Trossard just before half-time for “delaying the restart” was idiotic, unwarranted and completely disproportionate to the ‘crime’ committed. Some will make the case that Trossard kicked the ball away after the whistle (I don’t agree that it was obviously deliberate) but it’s the inconsistent, ad-hoc nature in which this crime is punished that is grossly unfair and, let’s face it, has likely cost Arsenal four points.
Let that sink in – match officials and their over-zealous pedantry have now cost Arsenal four points. Title races have been settled by far less.
We’d all much prefer to be talking about so many other aspects of our performance. About our shape, our aggression, our determination to fight back when a goal down. Instead, everything now flows from Oliver and his decision to alter the passage of the match. It’s becoming ridiculous.
Nobody asked for this law to be introduced, nothing about the last few seasons warranted an arbitrary clamp down and yet here we are, having been on the receiving end of two red cards for an offence that no other side has been punished for. Here we are, brooding on the sense of injustice where we should be hailing victory.
And breathe
Trying to analyse the match in the way it ultimately panned out is tricky because almost nothing worked the way Mikel Arteta would have wanted it to. We spent most our time reacting and existing in the moment rather than executing any sort of game plan.
What we can say about it is that Arsenal performed manfully. With 10 men against the reigning champions for almost an hour, they defended with gusto and with total commitment. Their efforts deserved to be rewarded with three points and came within barely 10 seconds of doing so. I have no doubt that if Kovacic’s cross had been cleared away, instead of dropping at the back post for John Stones, the referee would have blown his whistle and we would be talking about a landmark win instead of a draw.
It was heart-breaking to see it play out otherwise. We played as a 6-3-0 for the entire second half and reduced to City to shots from distance. They were out of ideas and thoroughly frustrated until a moment’s lapse saw them steal a point they didn’t deserve.
Top performers for Arsenal on the day were pretty much everyone. All those who started the match and all those who were forced into the fray to cover for injuries, tactical tweaks and sheer desperation. Everybody pulled their weight and put their bodies on the line for the team.
In particular, however, you have to give extra credit to the indomitable Gabriel Magalhaes, as well as David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey. Raya and Gabriel were stoic in defence and master organisers, Timber was fearless and relentless in his right-back posting, and Partey looked like the player of old in a three-man defensive screen. It looked like he was at home again, like the ‘Octopus’ of the Athletico Madrid era.
In the last 18 months, Arteta has transformed this squad into defensive behemoth’s. A group of players that relishes the physical challenge, that has the desire to keep going for the win at all costs. Those aspects of this transformed side simply weren’t evident when the manager took over. They were flimsy, naive and easily brushed aside. No more.
In the grand scheme of things, we can take a lot of positives from the result. Nobody can be under any illusions that this side will fight bitterly for every ball, there is no soft underbelly here. And yet, we can be silk and steal. We can as easily strangle our opponent with assiduous defending as we can rip them apart with football that would make Arsene Wenger proud.
It may not feel like it for a few days yet, but Arsenal were the real winners on Sunday night. They achieved what very few have been able to during Guardiola’s reign – they made them look ordinary.
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