Five Things We Learned: Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
The Premier League champions let the floodgates Arsenal
open before the match to celebrate the installation of the magnificent statues of club icons Vincent Kompany and David Silva.
City put Mikel Arteta’s side to the sword from start to finish, with goals from Ferran Torres, Elkay Gündoan,
Gabriel Jesus, and Rodri, as well as some poor defense by the Gunners, finishing what turned out to be a very one-sided match.
After Granit Xhaka was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Joo Cancelo after 35 minutes, Arsenal was down to ten
men and City added fuel to the fire by capitalizing on their man advantage as they were much too excellent for the visitors.
Here are five takeaways from the tie-in.
Torres is a true professional.
Ferran Torres reassured City fans that they are in good hands after the 21-year-old tormented the Arsenal
backline with his movement and accurate finishing after a summer of anguish for City fans as the club failed to clinch the signing of a top striker.
For the second week in a row, the Spain international showed his killer instinct in front of goal by arriving in the
right position at the right time throughout the match, scoring a brace against the Gunners, who are currently
bottom of the Premier League table after their third consecutive league defeat. Arsenal-Manchester city
Despite the fact that City is yet to face the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, both of whom have added
world-class strikers this summer, Torres is likely to retain his starting spot after delivering every time called upon,
which will no doubt delight Pep Guardiola.
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Gabriel Jesus has shown for the second game in a row that,
like he has done for Brazil in previous years, he is much more dangerous
and comfortable playing on the right side of the attack.
Guardiola was told by the 24-year-old following City’s 5-0 victory over Norwich City last week that he views
himself as a wide player, despite having spent most of his time in Manchester as a center-forward.
After being linked with a transfer away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, Jesus has made an amazing start to the new season, scoring twice and giving another assist.
Jack Grealish was fantastic for the Champions League finalists
setting up Jesus for the third goal of the day and causing chaos at the back for Arsenal, following scoring on his home debut for City against the Canaries last week.
The 25-year-old is fitting into a fresh position in Manchester’s east side, dropping deep and connecting play on the left side.
Throughout the victory, he looked comfortable moving the ball forward and finding teammates with inch-perfect passes.
Though City is yet to welcome back Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden
the England international has made an immediate impact
after joining Aston Villa in early August for £100 million.
While many in City’s attack received praise for putting the Gunners to shame
Aymeric Laporte was as reliable as ever, and despite the fact that it was a relatively easy day
at the office for the 27-year-old, he is proving a point to Guardiola, who relied on John Stones alongside Dias for much of the previous campaign.
Following his goal against Norwich last week, Laporte was an aerial danger for Arsenal as he controlled his own
box and might have contributed a few more goals if the north London club’s defense had not been so bad.
With Stones yet to make an appearance for City this season
Laporte will be hard to stop as the Spain international looks to reclaim his starting spot after signing his contract extension at the Etihad Stadium.
Five Things We Learned: Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
The city is still in excellent shape.
Despite their failings in the transfer market, City is still much superior to most teams in the league, as they
demonstrated on Saturday, with Guardiola’s skill and depth in-depth being rare among coaches throughout Europe.
After starting the season with back-to-back 1-0 losses to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur
City has regained its stride with back-to-back resounding wins at home to send a message to the rest of the league.
While they lack an out-and-out striker, City has enough firepower in their squad to score goals
as they demonstrated last season when they won their third league championship under Guardiola.
