I don’t remember Joe Hart having to make a single save in the first period. The closest we came was when a set-piece landed at the feet of Song, who couldn’t wrap his right peg around the ball and sent it wide

Match Review – Manchester City 3 Arsenal 0

As I write this late on Saturday night, I’ve just got back from Manchester. I’ve contracted a case of the chills – both from the weather and our performance – so no long prose for the match report today. I am thoroughly disenchanted with the team right now and really can’t be arsed repeating myself ad infinitum about our failings.

Following the fallout of the Gallas situation late in the week, Gavin Hoyte was drafted in at right-back, with people’s choice Johan Djourou in the middle. As expected (in the absence of Kolo and Cesc), Manuel assumed the armband. Many felt it would be Gael, but his recent and growing tendency to make costly errors seemed to rule him out.

It was a bitterly cold day, although on the way to the ground myself and my mate DJ spotted one crazy Gooner in sandals and shorts. Eastlands is a very impressive stadium from the outside, and none too shabby inside either. We were shocked to find that our seats in the corner of the stadium were so close to the home fans and that the rival tribes would be separated by barely a dozen stewards.

If you weren’t there then I’m sure you either caught a stream or have seen the highlights. Not that there were many ‘highlights’ in the first-half, which featured two out-of-sorts teams going toe-to-toe. The official website describes our first-half performance as “competitive but toothless” – a pretty accurate summation. We were by no means overawed or overran, but creativity was lacking.

Indeed, I don’t remember Joe Hart having to make a single save in the first period. The closest we came was when a set-piece landed at the feet of Song, who couldn’t wrap his right peg around the ball and sent it wide.

One of our main problems was the static-ness up-front. Both Bendtner and v.Persie are nominally second-strikers and neither is likely to make a run in behind the defence. With our movement so dire, it was no surprise that we created diddly squat. The biggest plus point of the half was that we comfortably outsang the home fans, until the first goal of course. The Citeh faithful certainly lived up to the old adage of only singing whilst you’re winning.

City’s goal was either unfortunate or a defensive cock-up, depending how you look at it. I am in the latter camp, although a City fan I spoke to on the way back was keen to emphasise the luck involved. Clichy failed to clear adequately on the halfway line, the ball eventually ended up on the edge of our own box and a mixture of Clichy and Silvestre failed to deal with it as Gael took an airshot with his right-foot. This let in Superman Stephen Ireland, who finished coolly. It might have been a completely different story had we gone in level at half-time, but with the home side having just scuppered a few chances through Benjani, they arguably deserved to be ahead.

During the break I shrugged off the goal when texting my mate Dschin with my frozen fingers, saying that it wouldn’t be a real away game if we hadn’t conceded first. I may be wrong, but when was the last time we opened the scoring in an away game in the first-half? Was it at Blackburn back in early September? Madness.

We came out for the second period and seemed to have the bit between our teeth. Diaby went close with a shot at the near post, before v.Persie hit the side-netting with a low free-kick. Bendtner could have grabbed a goal but decided to go for a volley instead of heading a Clichy cross – maybe he wanted to christen his shiny pink boots with a cultured effort?

As fans we all love to hark back to the good old days, and I am no different. The biggest difference attacking-wise between this current crop of players and the 2002-2004 team is pace. On a good day we have Theo Walcott as our one true speedster, with Adebayor not far behind. However, with those two missing we didn’t have anyone to stretch the game at all. And with Theo out until the New Year, it looks like we’re gonna have to get used to it.

City on the other hand deployed the tactic utilised so well by Villa last week as they had some real rapidos in the final third. An attacking trio of Benjani, Vassell and Robinho backed up by Wright-Phillips is one heck of a relay squad, and it was no surprise that their second came on the counter. Robin picked up the ball in the centre circle, was dispossessed and predictably Robinho was released in behind Gavin Hoyte. His finish was a beauty, taking a leaf out of our boy Carlos’ book and chipping the keeper with some aplomb.

Speaking of Carlos, he soon came off the bench along with Aaron Ramsey. This instilled a bit of urgency into the side, especially in our pedestrian central midfield where Denilson and Song were not having the best of games. Bendtner nearly halved the deficit but his low shot hit Hart’s legs – a goal then and we would have been right back in it.

The biggest cheers of the match from the away fans came when Robinho had a goal disallowed and a goalbound effort cleared off the line by the increasingly impressive Djourou, who had been shunted out to right-back by now.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, the “We love you Arsenal” chant piped up. Immediately I turned to DJ and told him that this would last ‘til full-time, and I was right. It was intermittently broken up when Robin decided to nick the ball from Hart midway through a goal-kick and volley the ball into the back of the net, and right at the end when City were awarded a penalty. Despite it being converted by Sturridge, the chant continued until the whistle. And for that reason, my Top Gun of the day goes to the away support. It was an act of pure defiance at the end of a harrowing day.

As we left the stadium, we got the usual catcalls from the City fans. The thing is that every insult aimed at us was true and we agreed with them, so they didn’t even hurt.

And that’s the problem. A defeat used to be treated with aghast and horror. Now, it has become a run-of-the-mill thing. Speaking to a few Gooners on the way home, they were of the same opinion. Normally we would feel aggrieved at losing a game because invariably it came as a result of a wonder goal, or bad defending from a set-piece, or a refereeing error. But this one and last week’s loss to Villa were simply a consequence of us not being very good.

And that is a sad indictment of the team, although I concede that we had an obscene amount of injuries. Never mind the long-term ones of Eduardo and Rosicky, but having Sagna, Eboue, Toure, and Adebayor out – not to mention the suspension of Fabregas and the unknown status of Gallas – was a step too far. Our absentees were so much that the entire bench comprised the Carling Cup kids. The sooner the senior players get back, the better. Or UEFA Cup football is looking like a real possibility.

On which note, I would like to end with a surreal moment that occurred during the game. After a passage of play in which both teams fucked up, both sets of supporters were singing the same song at each other:

“Champions League? You’re havin’ a laugh!”

The crazy thing is that come full-time, it was City faithful that sang the song with more gusto and belief. Says it all really.

Right, now over to you all in the comments section to rant away…

P.S. to JonJon and Linval, I hope you boys made it home intact. Although to be honest, there was no reason for the City fans to out you as Gooners…after all, it’s not like we had anything to celebrate during the 90 minutes!