As I was watching the game unfold, I felt strange numbness. Detachment. I cannot recall, when was the last time I felt this way.
Two years ago, we took a beating from United. Our half-baked squad full of youngsters suffered a heavy defeat, which prompted Wenger to buy Mertesacker and Arteta on the last day of the transfer window.
I turned that game off when Arsenal went 3-0 down after approximately 20 minutes. My mind could not take much more. I felt enraged and upset beyond comprehension.
This time around, I ploughed on, though I knew there was no getting back from 3-1. Walcott`s second after a period of heavy pressure sparked some hope in me, but Silva turned the clock back almost immediately. His goal proved to be that turning point, after which the Gunners basically gave up.
Well, not completely. One of the positives we can take from this game is our fighting spirit. We kept going even after conceding the fifth, something that resulted in a good goal.
Our defensive work, coupled with individual errors, however, left us well beaten by a good City side. It's just unbelievable how every our mistake was punished time and again. We knew before the game, City is a threat going forward, but their ruthless efficiency surprised even me. From seven shots on goal, six went in.
We lacked this kind of efficiency. While our defensive display was, frankly, horrendous, our attack made this game very open indeed.
After we've conceded the third, we've thrown a lot of men forward, which resulted in a quite fascinating period of complete control over the situation. The reason it took us ten minutes to score is simple: Giroud.
Now, before I say anything else, I gotta confess I love the Frenchman. He's become integral to how we play and his desire and overall work-rate is fantastic. But he has a couple of, erm, downsides, that weren't that noticeable (or were, at least, forgivable), while he was bagging goals. Those qualities (or, rather, lack of thereof) were thrown into the light at the Etihad.
Firstly, he cannot create opportunities out of nothing. He needs good service, needs someone to create these moments for him, so he could just finish them off.
However, it's his second trait, that everyone became acutely aware of on Saturday. Giroud is not clinical. He needs several chances to score at least once.
Our period of maddening pressure saw the Frenchman spurn at least three moments. Moments a more clinical striker would have put away with his eyes closed. That's why we need an alternative to Giroud, someone who can offer us an outlet of another sort. A technical kind of guy.
A target we should also pursue during the January transfer window is a central defender. One of the numerous things, that went wrong during the match, was Koscielny`s knee. The Frenchman suffered a deep cut, so we now have only two fit centre-backs. Sagna`s possible departure can make things complicated further still, forcing us to look for a right-back, among other things. I've already said I think Jenks isn't ready for regular first-team action. And he probably won't be for the next couple of seasons.
A few more words about individual performances. First, well done Walcott. Easily our best performer on the day, the Englishman scored two great goals after his first start in two months and was on course for a hat-trick, only to be denied by Pantilimon. Hope Theo carries on in that vein from now on.
And the linesman. Well, three offsides, which were actually onside tell you pretty much everything you want to know about this ref. He was either bought or struck with a sudden and acute mental illness. Either way, he should start looking for a new job.
So, what now? We recuperate. The game didn't go our way for several reasons, but it looks much more of a coincidence, than a rule. Another thing I failed to mention, was how exhausted the players looked. At some point, Whilshere lost the ball in midfield, fell in the process and was physically unable to get up.
We now have nine days before the hell breaks loose and we should use this time to maximum benefit. Analyse the mistakes we made, ensure we will never make them again and move on. The result wasn't all good and shiny, but, as I've said, it's more of an occurrence.
And finally for today, we drew Bayern Munich in the last sixteen in the Champions League. Well, well. Payback time. We'll have a chance to discuss it in greater detail as the week progresses. In the meantime, don't feel too down.
We're still top of the league, after all
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