Opening Day: City's Sterling Performance

The defending Champions, Manchester City, came through a tricky game. Opening day fixtures are somewhat unpredictable. Add a new regime at the Emirates to the fact many players have only just returned from the World Cup, any anything can happen.

In the end, Manchester City ran out comfortable winners, with a sublime performance. That said, there were still parts of the game which had Pep visibly frustrated.


So, what were the positives from the game, and which aspects will Pep be working on this week?

1) Good Build Up Play:

I was really quite impressed with the movement of the ball side to side, stretching the opposition. On the left, Raheem and Blue Mendy had a decent understanding. When one was out wide, the other moved inside with each playing off the other.

A similar thing could be see on the other side with Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez. Bernardo Silva also looked good in the middle both in his movement and his interplay with those around him.


2) Possession:

Manchester City were in control for the vast majority of the game, with Arsenal not having any decent spells after the first five minutes until later in the first and second halves. A 58% possession statistic with, I would argue, a significant amount of that in the Arsenal half.

Manchester City now have, from front to back, players who are extremely comfortably with the ball at feet. Quick movements and one touch football saw Arsenal chasing shadows.

3) Missed Opportunities:

For all the possession and interplay in advance positions, there were still those frustrating moments. Prior to Bernardo slotting home the second, Aguero had wasted a chance. Essentially one on one with the keeper the Argentinian had a choice to score or square to an unmarked De Bruyne. In the end he did neither, and that was just one of many frustrating moments.

The first half alone Manchester City should have been two or three up. As it was, City had 17 shots, with less than half being on target. Of those eight, a quarter found the back of the net. 

Arsenal v Manchester City Player Ratings


4) Solid (young) Defence:

Last season Manchester City had a decent record at the back. This past game though, Kyle Walker was much the older man at the back, at 28 years old. John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Ben Mendy and Ederson are all only 24. That means the average age of our defense yesterday was a little under 25, and a long future together.

Two good ball playing central defenders and pacey wing backs adds to our potency in attack. Ederson had a brief lapse in concentration late on, but survived. His usually pinpoint distribution was off just a little, but this was his first competitive game back.

5) Arsenal Fans Singing For Arsene:

So after the last two years of singing for the Frenchman to leave, we suddenly heard songs for the ex Manager.. The guy who was vilified only months ago was now the subject of frustrated fans. For City's opposition, the rebuild is going to be long and complex, with Ozil missing as usual.

However, in the 78th minute, Arsenal fans began chanting 'He's won more than you. He's won more than you. Arsene Wenger, He's won more than you'. But has he? Has he really? At Arsenal Wenger won three League titles, 7 FA Cups and 7 Community Shields. That means 17 trophies (10 major).

So who were they comparing it to? Manchester City? Five top flight titles in our history, five FA Cups and five League Cups combined with a European trophy and 5 Community Shield. Twenty one titles, 16 of which could be considered major honors. They certainly couldn't be talking about Pep, who has won major honors in every country, including multiple European and World Club trophies.