Thoughts Turn To City And The Weekend

The players are understandably bouyant following the victory over Shaktar but already the senior members of the squad are sounding a note of caution, that this return to form must be continued into Sunday’s trip to Eastlands. Tomas Rosicky got the ball rolling,

We need a win in Manchester. We cannot always say we are unlucky because it doesn’t work like that. It’s time to prove we can win those games.

At Chelsea it was the same old story. We presented ourselves well on the pitch and we were very disappointed with the result because you go into the game with the feeling you can win it. But these are all just words and we have to finally show it on the pitch.

We have a great opportunity to do that on Sunday. The win over Shakhtar was a good boost for us before City, so let’s go for it there.

History has been rewritten recently as far as the squad is concerned. Encounters with Manchester United and Chelsea have seen only two wins in the last two seasons with the record expanding to four wins out of the last twenty meetings. Whilst there have been a number of draws, the record is still not good.

City are the new kids on the block as far as being a top four side are concerned yet they have won their last three on the trot with Chelsea and lost both Mancunian derbies narrowly last season. And Arsenal’s record since the 0 – 3 reverse post-Gallasgate is abysmal as well; one win, four goals scored and thirteen conceded in the last five meetings.

No matter how close the games with United and Chelsea might have been, the record books do not make pretty reading. As Rosicky and others have noted, the defeat at Chelsea was another bitter one to swallow simply because chances were not taken, sucker punches were swift and brutal.

Cesc believes that the advantage Arsenal has over City is the hurried approach taken to glory by the new owners of the club, glory sought to be bought in a year,

Of course you cannot buy that in one year. You need a few years to get everyone together to know each other well. It’s not easy. You don’t do in one season or two I would say.

They have a lot of money, they are taking advantage of it and that’s it. Obviously it’s not our style, but we respect everyone’s decision. Everyone decides how they want to win.

Comparisons to Chelsea are obvious and somewhat wide of the mark for the Londoners were more advanced as a squad than City prior to their spree, Ranieri had already laid good foundations for Mourinho to build upon. That is not to say that City cannot achieve their aims quickly; the Premier League ‘giants’ are weaker than in the past, United is some disarray at the moment whilst Chelsea are reliant upon an ageing squad. City though are not without significant weaknesses, their defence exposed by Blackpool last weekend as was their reliance upon Carlos Tevez.

Arsenal cannot assume this team spirit gives them an advantage. City are at home and they will be difficult to beat because of that. Arsenal do not have the ‘Indian sign’ over them to give a psychological edge but that will come into it. The hosts will be favourites and pressure upon them to produce, to show that their victory over Chelsea was not a ‘one-off’ but a significant stride forwards.

And this may yet play into the hands of Wenger who will have a relatively strong squad to choose from if his injury estimates are correct from last week. That is a big ‘if’ since some of his forecasts in that respect are as much use as a chocolate teapot and the loss of Wilshere should not be underestimated, his dribbling and speed of thought would have been hugely advantageous in a crowded defence and midfield.

Even so, it is a fixture to look forward to and one that is emminently winnable for Arsenal. The performance against Shaktar needs to be replicated, making the opposition chase the ball and shadows. And good for the soul of football as well, proof that love isn’t the only thing money can’t buy you.

’til Tomorrow.