Gunners show character

Man City 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal significantly strengthened their chances of a top three finish with a 2-2 draw away to Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners knew that a loss would have severely dented their hopes of avoiding the dreaded qualification round for next season’s Champions League and therefore were happy to come away from the Etihad with a share of the spoils.

There was still a degree of disappointment in the air however as the players and fans both knew that with Tottenham having lost earlier in the day, the chance to finish above their bitter rivals had been spurned. Had the Gunners won their game against Manchester City, the pressure would have been on Tottenham going into the final game of the season as anything less than a victory would have opened the door for Arsenal to finish in second place. However with the Gunners drawing against Manchester City, Tottenham now only require a draw against Newcastle on the final day in order to secure second place. In the grand scheme of things finishing second is not something that would save Arsenal’s season in any way as they would still have failed to win the league in a season when Leicester have become champions. Additionally, securing second place would undoubtedly be seized upon by the manager in an attempt to paper over the cracks and convince the Arsenal faithful that in fact progression had been made from the previous season. Therefore finishing third may be a blessing in disguise as although Wenger would still be able to point to yet another season of Champions League qualification, issues would still need to be addressed in the summer.

Of course how far those issues will be investigated is another matter entirely. Wenger’s intent to persevere with what he has in the hope it will all come good was in evidence once again in the post-match press conference on Sunday. In recent weeks and months Olivier Giroud has shown beyond all doubt that he is not at the level required to score goals on a consistent basis that would take a side to the league title. However, having ended his long goal drought against Manchester City, largely thanks to being completely unmarked from a corner and also laying the ball off to Sanchez for Arsenal’s second, Wenger was busy declaring the real Giroud had shown up at the Etihad. Surely the manager is not considering entering yet another league season with the former Montpellier striker as his leading centre forward? Anyone who has consistently watched Arsenal over the last few years can identify the fact that this is what Giroud does. He experiences a run of matches in which he scores regularly and links up play well but then goes on a long run where he just cannot score, loses confidence and offers little to the team. It is this lack of consistency which Arsenal cannot afford if they are ever to mount a serious championship challenge.

Arsenal were once again far from their best on Sunday and at times appeared to really struggle to get out of their own half, but at least they did dig in to secure the draw, having fallen behind on two occasions. City really came flying out of the blocks and Arsenal just didn’t seem equipped to cope with the intensity of their opponents. The tactic from Wenger appeared to be for his side to sit deep, soak up the pressure and then hit City on the break, but with Ramsey selected alongside Elneny instead of Coquelin, the defensive shield required in front of the back four wasn’t really there and Giroud struggled to hold the ball up in the face of the strength shown by Mangala and Ottemendi in the air. As a result, the ball just kept on coming back at Arsenal as City launches attack after attack and duly took the lead early on.

Sergio Aguero reacted quickest to a knock down inside the area and feinted beautifully past Elneny before firing a shot low and hard into the bottom corner of the net. What Arsenal would do to have a player of his undoubted ability in the centre forward position. Fortunately for the Gunners lady luck smiled upon them and they were back on level terms within two minutes. A mix up between Clichy and Joe Hart gifted Arsenal a corner and terrible marking allowed Giroud to head home. For a large period of the game, this was the Gunners only attempt on target but somehow after the match had ended the general consensus was that Arsenal had performed well.

City retook the lead in the second half as Kevin DeBryne was allowed the freedom to race through from the half way line unchallenged before beating Cech far too easily at his near post. It was said the former Chelsea goalkeeper would save Arsenal up to fifteen points a season, but he has cost the Gunners quite a few points with a number of mistakes that would have been given greater coverage had Ospina made them. Arsenal seemed to be destined for defeat as they struggled desperately to create any goal scoring opportunities, but suddenly found themselves level again as City fell asleep defensively.

A ball played forward was flicked on well by Giroud right into the path of Alexis Sanchez, whose run had not been tracked by any City player. The Chilean had been largely anonymous throughout the game but made no mistake as he slotted the ball home brilliantly.

City swamped the Arsenal half in the final ten minutes in search of a winner, but it never arrived. In the end both teams couldn’t really complain at the final result, with neither having done enough to warrant a victory. The Gunners must now secure a draw against Aston Villa on the final day in order to seal third place. It is a task which they should complete, but one which cannot be allowed to cover up the deficiencies which are clearly present at the club. There can be no mistaking the fact that this season has been a failure.