Man City v Arsenal

[TonyTonyTony]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

For me, KDB is the best ever midfielder we have seen in the history of the premier league.

He is certainly up there. An awesome player

Arsenal wilting here. It could easily be 6 or 7

[Super]

1 minute ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

KDB and Haaland just make it look too easy. 

For me, KDB is the best ever midfielder we have seen in the history of the premier league.

That's a big call. 

[stephenkibby.]

Manc are now dominating like Manu were under Ferguson. All went tits up for them when he let the last side he built get to old.

Cant see that happening with Pep. The only chance the pretenders have is if Pep gets bored and ***** off.

If he stays for another 5 or 10 years thats how long they will dominate.

I love the way they play and the longer Manu stay off the top suits me fine.

[Henry]

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

[Kid in the Riot]

Is that not  handball from Haaland in the area? Clearly moves body and arm towards the shot and ball hits his arm. Commentators just dismissed it "arms were by his body". 

[Super]

Lucky Chelsea have enough points already!

[Super]

3 minutes ago, Henry said:

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

They don't have depth in squad. Saliba has been a massive miss for them. Holding is awful.

[cityexile]

2 minutes ago, Henry said:

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

Recent form has been poor but I don’t think anyone expected them to be in this position start of the season at all. The Liverpool and Man City title battles were epic as it was two great sides. Arsenal are not at the same level.

[RedM]

2 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Is that not  handball from Haaland in the area? Clearly moves body and arm towards the shot and ball hits his arm. Commentators just dismissed it "arms were by his body". 

I thought so too. He certainly changed the path of the ball by leaning quite a way with his upper body and it hit him in an area that is usually given as handball, arms 'really close' to his body or not.

[W-S-M Seagull]

3 minutes ago, Henry said:

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

I think City can take credit for that too for putting them under the pressure they have done with such an impressive run. 

Arsenal players would have watched the games against Arsenal and would have wondered how do they beat this team. 

City got into their heads.

[cityexile]

In other news Sheff Utd one up and securing promotion as it stands.

[Kid in the Riot]

5 minutes ago, Henry said:

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

Don't agree with that. At no point have I thought Arsenal have had a better than 50/50 chance of winning the Title. 

Start of the season, top 4 was the aim, and they're going to comfortably finish top 2. 

Still a very good season for them and Arteta. 

[formerly known as ivan]

Fair to say we put up a better fight vs Man City than Arsenal have!

[W-S-M Seagull]

4 minutes ago, Super said:

Lucky Chelsea have enough points already!

I got laughed at the other week when I said I genuinely can't see Chelsea winning another game this season. 

[ChippenhamRed]

3 minutes ago, Henry said:

As good as Man City have been, Arsenal have bottled this title race. They should have been clear of Man City by this point.

They shouldn’t have been anywhere near Man City at this point. To make the title race interesting against this City side is a hell of an effort from Arsenal, miles ahead of expectation, so I think “bottling it” is unfair.

If you’re criticising Arsenal for not being further ahead of Man City, then you should be equally critical of Man City for not dominating the league like they probably should have done.

[Winterstoke toad]

Good night 

[Henry]

2 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Don't agree with that. At no point have I thought Arsenal have had a better than 50/50 chance of winning the Title. 

Start of the season, top 4 was the aim, and they're going to comfortably finish top 2. 

Still a very good season for them and Arteta. 

Don’t disagree they’ve done well and massively overachieved against their seasons aims.

However if you let 3 goals in, at home, to Southampton then you’ve bottled it.

[formerly known as ivan]

Just now, Kid in the Riot said:

Don't agree with that. At no point have I thought Arsenal have had a better than 50/50 chance of winning the Title. 

Start of the season, top 4 was the aim, and they're going to comfortably finish top 2. 

Still a very good season for them and Arteta. 

I genuinely can’t see how they can say it’s been a good season after what has happened over recent weeks, regardless of what they’re aim at the start of the season was.  Things change as a season progresses and they won’t have a better chance of winning the league again for many a year.

Dropped points vs Liverpool and West Ham from winning positions and then against Southampton. It’s the exact definition of bottled it.

[Atlanta_Red]

Just how shocking is Lampard as a manager?

[ChippenhamRed]

2 minutes ago, Henry said:

Don’t disagree they’ve done well and massively overachieved against their seasons aims.

However if you let 3 goals in, at home, to Southampton then you’ve bottled it.

Did Man City “bottle it” when they lost at home to Brentford earlier in the season?

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, ChippenhamRed said:

They shouldn’t have been anywhere near Man City at this point. To make the title race interesting against this City side is a hell of an effort from Arsenal, miles ahead of expectation, so I think “bottling it” is unfair.

If you’re criticising Arsenal for not being further ahead of Man City, then you should be equally critical of Man City for not dominating the league like they probably should have done.

I think it is fair to say they've bottled it. 2 nil up against Liverpool and they drew, 2 nil up against West Ham and again they drew and then drew 3-3 with Southampton when the win was there for the taking. They've not shown up tonight either. If that's not bottling it, I don't know what is.

City can sometimes start slow but have the ability of being able to go on incredible runs, everyone knows that. 

Arsenals problem is they thought they had it won by Christmas and then as soon as City put some pressure on them, they've bottled it.

[Kid in the Riot]

2 minutes ago, Henry said:

Don’t disagree they’ve done well and massively overachieved against their seasons aims.

However if you let 3 goals in, at home, to Southampton then you’ve bottled it.

Because of one stat, they've bottled it?

2 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

I genuinely can’t see how they can say it’s been a good season after what has happened over recent weeks, regardless of what they’re aim at the start of the season was.  Things change as a season progresses and they won’t have a better chance of winning the league again for many a year.

Dropped points vs Liverpool and West Ham from winning positions and then against Southampton. It’s the exact definition of bottled it.

Incredible. 

[Super]

1 minute ago, formerly known as ivan said:

I genuinely can’t see how they can say it’s been a good season after what has happened over recent weeks, regardless of what they’re aim at the start of the season was.  Things change as a season progresses and they won’t have a better chance of winning the league again for many a year.

Dropped points vs Liverpool and West Ham from winning positions and then against Southampton. It’s the exact definition of bottled it.

Saka's penalty miss at West ham was the turning point. They win that they beat Southampton then defeat tonight would still leave them in with a shout.

[Henry]

1 minute ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Because of one stat, they've bottled it?

Incredible. 

No. They’ve bottled it because they’ve been top for most of the season and they’ve dropped points to teams at the bottom.

[Bristol Oil Services]

5 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

I genuinely can’t see how they can say it’s been a good season after what has happened over recent weeks, regardless of what they’re aim at the start of the season was.  Things change as a season progresses and they won’t have a better chance of winning the league again for many a year.

Dropped points vs Liverpool and West Ham from winning positions and then against Southampton. It’s the exact definition of bottled it.

They're missing their centre half, at the business-end of the season. Man City have struggled without their first choice cbs in the past, and Liverpool are mediocre now Van Dijk is merely average.

What is they say about defences and League titles? 

[Henry]

3 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

Did Man City “bottle it” when they lost at home to Brentford earlier in the season?

No, because they’ve basically won the league.

[cityexile]

Well, the good news.

After six years of waiting…Arsenal have just qualified for the Champions League. With other matches finished tonight they now cannot finish outside the top four.

I am sure they will go home thrilled.

[Kid in the Riot]

1 minute ago, Henry said:

No, because they’ve basically won the league.

And you think Arsenal had basically won it too. Very naive. 

[Kid in the Riot]

That Arsenal end looks pretty happy for a club that's "bottled it" apparently. 

[Super]

8 minutes ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

They're missing their centre half, at the business-end of the season. Man City have struggled without their first choice cbs in the past, and Liverpool are mediocre now Van Dijk is merely average.

What is they say about defences and League titles? 

I wish we had somebody average like VVD

[formerly known as ivan]

6 minutes ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

They're missing their centre half, at the business-end of the season. Man City have struggled without their first choice cbs in the past, and Liverpool are mediocre now Van Dijk is merely average.

What is they say about defences and League titles? 

Yes they have been without a key player but they have still thrown away 6 points in the last three games they should have won. It’s not even a case of ‘could have gone into tonights game with an 11 point lead’, it’s ‘should have gone into tonight’s game with an 11 point lead’!

Plus I’m pretty sure they spent £20m on a centre back in January yet have continued to play Holding who is clearly out of his depth at this level. That’s on Arteta!

[Bristol Oil Services]

Just now, Super said:

I wish we had somebody average like VVD

Missing the point there, Soup

[Super]

Game on.......

[Henry]

10 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

And you think Arsenal had basically won it too. Very naive. 

Do I?

[Super]

Finally gets his goal.

[cityexile]

Sheff Utd promoted.

[AppyDAZE]

Haaland. ******* love the hair. So unique, so cool, so brilliant. Hats off to you young man. A joy to watch.

Total viking.

Edited April 26, 2023 by AppyDAZE

[One Team]

49 now, incredible!

[Kid in the Riot]

5 minutes ago, Henry said:

Do I?

In order to bottle something, you have to be very close to attaining it. My argument is Arsenal have never been in a position where they've had anything like one hand on the trophy. 

I've can't recall seeing/hearing anyone saying confidently that Arsenal were going to win the title. 

[Gazred]

Haaland. More goals than healthy hair follicles, and that's saying something.

[Super]

Just now, Kid in the Riot said:

In order to bottle something, you have to be very close to attaining it. My argument is Arsenal have never been in a position where they've had anything like one hand on the trophy. 

I've can't recall seeing/hearing anyone saying confidently that Arsenal were going to win the title. 

Sure Piers Morgan did!

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, Kid in the Riot said:

In order to bottle something, you have to be very close to attaining it. My argument is Arsenal have never been in a position where they've had anything like one hand on the trophy. 

I've can't recall seeing/hearing anyone saying confidently that Arsenal were going to win the title. 

4 games ago, at the buisness end of the season they had 1 hand on the trophy! 

They then went on to win 0 games out of them 4. 

They had just 9 games left to play and they have absolutely bottled it.

[cityexile]

2 minutes ago, One Team said:

49 now, incredible!

To put Ronaldo and Messi achievements in to context, was reading somewhere that he needs to score 50 a season until something like 2033 to match them. I mean, he could, but it is still outrageous.

[AppyDAZE]

Haaland.. a breath of fresh hair

[W-S-M Seagull]

That was incredibly embarrassing from Arsenal. Probably one of City's easiest wins of the season.

[cityexile]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

4 games ago, at the buisness end of the season they had 1 hand on the trophy! 

They then went on to win 0 games out of them 4. 

They had just 9 games left to play and they have absolutely bottled it.

No one is arguing their form recently is poor. West Ham and Southampton were real killer blows. It is clear they have nowhere near the squad depth of Man City at the business end of the season. I don’t see it as a lack of bottle, just an over achieving team not being good enough.

Is your second team Sours?

[formerly known as ivan]

5 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

In order to bottle something, you have to be very close to attaining it. My argument is Arsenal have never been in a position where they've had anything like one hand on the trophy. 

I've can't recall seeing/hearing anyone saying confidently that Arsenal were going to win the title. 

The joys of football is the difference in opinions I guess..

2-0 up vs Liverpool, 2-0 vs West Ham, 3-3 draw vs Southampton at home. If that isn’t bottling it I don’t know what is.

Purely out of interest now, if Man City failed to win the league from here on in, do you think they would have bottled it? Do you think they have one hand on the trophy now even though they have been in second place most the season and are still two points off Arsenal after tonight?

[MarcusX]

46 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Is that not  handball from Haaland in the area? Clearly moves body and arm towards the shot and ball hits his arm. Commentators just dismissed it "arms were by his body". 

Shirt sleeve is the guide now isn’t it?

[Rob k]

So, at the end of the season, Arsenal finish 2nd and Man United third but they have won a final and in the FA Cup final? Who’s had the better season? 
 

[wayne allisons tongues]

Arsenal have struggled for a while now but were grinding out results 2 4 at Villa late goals and 3 2 Bournemouth after being 2 0 down. Just seems there much has started to run out, can’t keep giving teams leads and expect to win.

[MarcusX]

9 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

In order to bottle something, you have to be very close to attaining it. My argument is Arsenal have never been in a position where they've had anything like one hand on the trophy. 

I've can't recall seeing/hearing anyone saying confidently that Arsenal were going to win the title. 

I think it’s reasonable to say they’ve bottled it. It was in their hands with 8 games to go, they’ve dropped 2 goal leads in 2 consecutive games (the West Ham game was especially poor) and then almost lost to the worst team in the league, at home. That should have been 6 points minimum instead of 3.

They didn’t even need to beat City if they hadn’t dropped those points.

Liverpool were called bottlers for dropping a 7 point lead from December and finishing with 97 points!

[Kid in the Riot]

9 minutes ago, formerly known as ivan said:

The joys of football is the difference in opinions I guess..

2-0 up vs Liverpool, 2-0 vs West Ham, 3-3 draw vs Southampton at home. If that isn’t bottling it I don’t know what is.

Purely out of interest now, if Man City failed to win the league from here on in, do you think they would have bottled it? Do you think they have one hand on the trophy now even though they have been in second place most the season and are still two points off Arsenal after tonight?

Given they have a much better squad, I'd say if Man C didn't win it from here, it'd be more of a bottle job than claiming Arsenal have bottled it at this point. 

However, I don't think Man C quite have one hand on the trophy yet. Could still be a twist or two, yet. 

[And Its Smith]

Every club has a bad run. Even Man City.  Arsenal are having theirs now. Doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve bottled it 

[Fordy62]

Obviously Arsenal outclassed tonight, by my word the Dias kick not being a red is one of the very worst decisions I’ve ever seen. And to think Clattenburg tried to justify it. Incredible. 

[Henry]

26 minutes ago, Rob k said:

So, at the end of the season, Arsenal finish 2nd and Man United third but they have won a final and in the FA Cup final? Who’s had the better season? 
 

I think the Man Utd fans would be happier than Arsenal’s

[Kid in the Riot]

28 minutes ago, MarcusX said:

I think it’s reasonable to say they’ve bottled it. It was in their hands with 8 games to go, they’ve dropped 2 goal leads in 2 consecutive games (the West Ham game was especially poor) and then almost lost to the worst team in the league, at home. That should have been 6 points minimum instead of 3.

They didn’t even need to beat City if they hadn’t dropped those points.

Liverpool were called bottlers for dropping a 7 point lead from December and finishing with 97 points!

It was also in Man City's hands with 8 games to go... 

[italian dave]

1 hour ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

KDB and Haaland just make it look too easy. 

For me, KDB is the best ever midfielder we have seen in the history of the premier league.

Second that.

(until Alex Scott gets there, of course!)

[TonyTonyTony]

24 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

the Dias kick not being a red is one of the very worst decisions I’ve ever seen

I thought it was a red card too. 

[ralphindevon]

2 hours ago, RedRock said:

So Sykes gets a 5 match ban for a petulant kick out. Ruben kicks out twice and gets a yellow. Seems fair.

Still angry about, 4 game ban for that was absolutely ridiculous and before anyone says but that’s the rules, I know it was the rules but they’re clearly way off what’s right.

A one game ban if it wasn’t a yellow like tonight, fine but 4 games for that…….

[Midred]

33 minutes ago, ralphindevon said:

Still angry about, 4 game ban for that was absolutely ridiculous and before anyone says but that’s the rules, I know it was the rules but they’re clearly way off what’s right.

A one game ban if it wasn’t a yellow like tonight, fine but 4 games for that…….

The FA  serm have a habit for when the rules count!

[Fordy62]

The KDB/Partey challenge is a good debate. I think no pen, but lots of people think otherwise. 

[hinsleburg]

23 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

The KDB/Partey challenge is a good debate. I think no pen, but lots of people think otherwise. 

I think penalty...

Only one of them has actually gone to play the ball, it's not like Partey has fully got his body there to shield the ball to me it's a trip.

I'm glad however, that when the free kick has been given VAR hasn't got involved, such a subjective call!

[redkev]

9 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

Obviously Arsenal outclassed tonight, by my word the Dias kick not being a red is one of the very worst decisions I’ve ever seen. And to think Clattenburg tried to justify it. Incredible. 

Sykes banned for 4 games for much less than that , take those 2 incidents into a meeting room show the footage to all the officials and there hierarchy then sit back and listen to the bullshit they churn out , 

i will tell you the difference , one team has Manchester in front of its city the other has Bristol easy as that .

[redkev]

8 hours ago, italian dave said:

Second that.

(until Alex Scott gets there, of course!)

Watching KDB is an absolute pleasure ,best player I have seen in the prem , ozzes class in his conduct and his play .

[Silvio Dante]

What’s interesting about Arsenal is the value of momentum and how one moment can change a seasons direction. From a city perspective, we all point to that Wolves game under LJ - the “moment” there you can argue was Frankie going off, but for me it was Pack giving away a silly free kick in the last minute. We don’t lose that, I’d have been confident we go up. It changed the entire momentum of the season.

With Arsenal, go back two weeks to the Liverpool game. 2-0 up and Xhaka gets involved needlessly with Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool fans were quiet. It woke them up and the atmosphere became intense. Momentum passed to Liverpool.

If Arsenal don’t give Liverpool that momentum, they win that game. And winning at Anfield gives them confidence. They draw it, throw away a 2-0. And that eats into them at West Ham.

It’s a little thing but they didn’t “lose” the title tonight. They “lost” it after about 35 minutes at Anfield.

[Open End Numb Legs]

9 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

That was incredibly embarrassing from Arsenal. Probably one of City's easiest wins of the season.

I only saw the highlights on MoTD last night but that Arsenal defence looked very open, just not tight enough, running away from players with the ball plus some rather average goal keeping too.

[Super]

9 minutes ago, redkev said:

Watching KDB is an absolute pleasure ,best player I have seen in the prem , ozzes class in his conduct and his play .

Chelsea have made many mistakes over the years but letting this guy go is right up there.

[Super]

8 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

What’s interesting about Arsenal is the value of momentum and how one moment can change a seasons direction. From a city perspective, we all point to that Wolves game under LJ - the “moment” there you can argue was Frankie going off, but for me it was Pack giving away a silly free kick in the last minute. We don’t lose that, I’d have been confident we go up. It changed the entire momentum of the season.

With Arsenal, go back two weeks to the Liverpool game. 2-0 up and Xhaka gets involved needlessly with Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool fans were quiet. It woke them up and the atmosphere became intense. Momentum passed to Liverpool.

If Arsenal don’t give Liverpool that momentum, they win that game. And winning at Anfield gives them confidence. They draw it, throw away a 2-0. And that eats into them at West Ham.

It’s a little thing but they didn’t “lose” the title tonight. They “lost” it after about 35 minutes at Anfield.

See i don't see it that way. Before the game i reckon they would have taken a draw at Anfield so it wasn't the worst result and in the end were lucky to get a point. If Saka scores that pen to put them 3-1 up at West Ham they win that game and more than likely beat Southampton. They should be 6 points in front of Man City now.

[1960maaan]

10 minutes ago, Super said:

See i don't see it that way. Before the game i reckon they would have taken a draw at Anfield so it wasn't the worst result and in the end were lucky to get a point. If Saka scores that pen to put them 3-1 up at West Ham they win that game and more than likely beat Southampton. They should be 6 points in front of Man City now.

I would agree if it wasn't for how the scoring went. Arsenal 2-0 and dominant to 2-2 and panicy, for me it really knocks the wind out of their sails. They do the same Vs WHU , really must start to play on their nerves, specially as this is the first time they have been challenging for a while. The Saka Pen would/could have got them back on track, but again the pressure from losing a 2-0 previously . Being 2-0 & 3-1 down V Southampton plays on that, they looked off the pace and struggled to get going.
For all the years I've watched football, pundits have put store in, "being there and done it". It may well be a case of that. This Arsenal team are new to this chase, for Man City it looks like another day at the office, although they do look a different level.
TBF to Arsenal, Man City are a couple of years (at least)ahead in terms of development. Another good window this summer could see Arsenal stronger next year, I doubt even Arteta expected them to be up there so close this year.

[Silvio Dante]

4 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

I would agree if it wasn't for how the scoring went. Arsenal 2-0 and dominant to 2-2 and panicy, for me it really knocks the wind out of their sails. They do the same Vs WHU , really must start to play on their nerves, specially as this is the first time they have been challenging for a while. The Saka Pen would/could have got them back on track, but again the pressure from losing a 2-0 previously . Being 2-0 & 3-1 down V Southampton plays on that, they looked off the pace and struggled to get going.
For all the years I've watched football, pundits have put store in, "being there and done it". It may well be a case of that. This Arsenal team are new to this chase, for Man City it looks like another day at the office, although they do look a different level.
TBF to Arsenal, Man City are a couple of years (at least)ahead in terms of development. Another good window this summer could see Arsenal stronger next year, I doubt even Arteta expected them to be up there so close this year.

Bingo - all about game management. The game, as much as it could be at that stage, was dead and they brought it back to life. I’m in no doubt they would have taken a point pre game, and I’d wager a battling 1-1 having come from behind would have seen different results Vs West Ham and Southampton, if not Man City. 
 

So much of football is psychological (see again when we kept conceding late goals). It’s not the result impact, it’s the psychological impact