In front of a loud and passionate Emirates crowd, Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0 to end City’s title hopes and move Arsenal three points clear of Spurs for third place.
Some thoughts on the game
- Oliver Kay from the Times tweeted this stat after the game: Since that drubbing at Old Trafford in late August, Arsenal have won as many Premier League games (19) as Manchester City and and picked up 2 fewer points. That record shows how badly Arsenal screwed up the Fabregas and Nasri transfers last summer. Get all the deals this summer done before the Euros so the team can hit the ground running next season
- Arsenal could easily have won 3-0 today. In the first half Robin Van Persie saw a goal bound header hit Thomas Vermaelen and then in the second half he saw a header come back of the post with Hart beaten. Then Walcott’s shot was tipped on to the post by Hart, and somehow Vermaelen and Benayoun conspired to somehow not score.
- Arsenal held Manchester City to no shots on goal today. First time that has happened all season. I have not seen City dominated in a game this season the way that Arsenal dominated them today.
- Man City have never recovered from losing key players to the Africa Cup in January. Before Christmas they were brilliant. Since then they have been pretty average
- Lot of criticism for Mario Balotelli after the game in that he cost City the title. Yes he was a walking red card all day, but blaming City’s collapse on him is a little much. Instead look at Carlos Tevez, as his saga had a much bigger impact on City’s season than how Balotelli played at Arsenal yesterday
- Thought that Arsenal’s midfield of Song, Arteta, Rosicky and Benayoun were terrific today. Totally bossed the opening 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of the game. Interesting that in such a big game that Wenger went with experience in the middle of the park instead of youth, and it paid off as the older heads were able to control the game.
- Roberto Mancini has just over a year left on his current contract. So this summer is a big one for City’s owners. Do they give Mancini a new deal, and essentially say that he is our man for the next four or five years, or do they look to bring someone else in this summer to manage the club?
What did you think of the game yesterday? Is it back to In Arsene We Trust for Arsenal fans? Will Mancini be back as City boss next season?