Man City v Arsenal review – Gutsy Gunners finally win a BIG one!

It was clear from the way Arsenal started this away game against the current Premier League champions, as well as the starting line-up selected by Arsene Wenger, that the Gunners had learned some painful lessons in recent years and were determined not to be too open.

We have seen some of these big away games practically over before they got started when we went in with attacking intent, so Wenger;s tactics were sound. Despite a bit of early nervousness, the Gunners did well to stay compact and deny the City players any time or space with the ball, but that also meant we were not doing much at the other end and were largely relying on a quick counter attack which Alexis nearly produced a couple of times in the first 15 minutes.

A Cazorla corner caused confusion in the Man City box but HGart got away with a flapped punch out. And we grew in confidence and started to press forwards more and got a great reward for our good start, when Monreal won a 25th minute penalty after being blocked by Kompany. Super Santi smashed it home with confidence.

And the Gunners were clever and composed and made sure for the next 10 minutes that we gave no easy chance for the home side to equalise. But we had put a lot of effort in and towards halftime we started to flag a bit and City really put us under pressure. But we stayed strong and got to the break still ahead.

City brought Jovetic on for Milner and went 4-4-2 and for some reason we let ourselves get drawn into a more open game. Silva had moved to the left and was starting to find more space and it seemed to throw us off our plan. But we were also thinking about hitting them on the break and killing the game off and we came really close twice in as many minutes but Ramsey fired just over on the first and Cazorla’s control let him down on the second.

We were committimg men forwards though and it was leaving us exposed so with half an hour to go, we seemed to calm down and go back to the first half tactics a bit more. Rosicky came on for the Ox to freshen things up and perhaps combat Lampard coming on. And our job got easier agter Giroud pounced to head our second from a Cazorla free kick, meaning there was no need to push players forward. Someone needed to tell Bellerin though.

In general ythough, we defended really well and still had some chances to score a third. Gibbs and Flamini came on for the last 10 minutes for Ramsey and Alexis who had run themselves into the ground. A brilliant performance and a long awaited away win against one of the really big rivals. Man City 0 – Arsenal 2 COYG

Tags Cazorla Giroud Monreal

272 Comments

    1. My oh my! Fantastic performance, stuck in deep and made City’s attack look rubbish. Coquelin is showing all the right signs, give this man a contract! Santi Cazorla was injected with whatever Messi had in his younger years haha! Great win!

        1. Also, I don’t say this often, but the City forums are filled with their fans acknowledging our performance rather than berating their team. Nice to see another team knows when they were humbly outplayed.

          1. our lowest possesion- since opta stats began!!!

            an we beat the champions at the etihad!

            WENGER FINALLY !! NEW TACTICS!!!!

            1. I knew we were not gonna lose this match.
              We could not let King Henry down.
              First match as a pundit and we beat Women City at their own backyard.
              WOW Just WOW.

              1. Santi world class
                wenger brilliant tactics lets hope its not a one off from him

                Also heard pelligrini is in the arsenal dressing room asking kos if hell let aguero out of his pocket
                COYG

                1. YAY!! well done wenger. u got tactics right. credit where credit is due. choosing bellerin/ospina/coquelin over chambers/chesney/flam was a great choice. cazorla says to ozil “no way ur taking my spot”. AW played w new tactics today. won w/o sanchez today – huge result due to huge discipline & Wenger’s wilingness to change & try something new.

            2. They re not new tactics. Those were the tactics we used against bayern munich and barca and we won some of the games if u remember. So I disagree.

            3. where are my beers? …… My beers…….more beers…… I wanna down it all……. I wanna see people walking on their heads

          2. this site is filled with JUBILEE tonight……. Don’t bother searching for ur own comments y’all

              1. Are you the fan police?

                People are entitled to their opinions, let’s see where we are end of season. 1 win in 16 vs United, City, and Chelsea doesn’t suddenly make us champions elect.
                Great win, great change of style to suit the opposition….but this has to be used as a platform for moving forward or the same questions will be asked.

                1. Exactly.. What a sad state of affairs @ArsenelsYourDaddy.

                  This ‘us’ and ‘them’ small minded b@llocks mentality where you wanna stoke up conflict after a top win.

                  I’m still very much Wenger Out FYI and very much for AFC. I and others know their own minds and one win against a top team isn’t gonna change mine or day I say countless others.

                  We don’t need to say it in response to every post though now do we?
                  Same as you do not have to declare your un-questioning, un-dying love and admiration for Arse’n in every post. Or maybe you do?

          3. SAAAANTI__is____ just too much
            Coquelin__is___Reliable DM after all
            Bellerin___is__doing things the right way at the right Back
            Ospina__is__Simply clean sheet master
            Kosielny__is__just the BOSS
            Giroud__have improved massively
            Rosicky__is__not old
            Sanchez__is__a Hero
            Monreal_is Underrated
            Chambo___
            Ramsey__is__coming back
            Wenger__is__finally using his head.
            Can’t believe both Walcott and Ozil did not even play. #COYG

            1. Wenger is finally using his head – Agreed and thank you. I like the change of tactic, but im not going to praise him, because this IS the way you’re supposed to play vs. Chelsea/City away (even home, i dare say pessimistic).

              He’s showing signs of improving his tactical reportoire, but he’s still far from being the ideal manager. He still needs to get a fix on injuries and his agenda on the transfer market. The last might be according to the boards ambitions, but he still needs to be proactive on the transfer market, like Mourinho and Pellegrini.

          1. “…who wants a player that was loan to Charlton”

            I will be nice and wont quote that from “football expert” on this forum.

            1. True..in this kind of ball..it will take real balls for a manager to push santi to the wing. But he and sanchez need rest after the Totts game. Time for Ozil and Walcott to fasten their seat belts

      1. Cazorla______Coquelin______Bellerin_____Kosielny_______________________________________Rest of the team.

      2. Hey! Hey! Hey!!! Aint we all forgetting someone???__________Hector Bellerin!!!! The dude was immense!!! Great stuff from the lad!

    2. I’ll do better and stab u, lol, cant believe we won, we finally did this, man of the match? Santiiiii! Close second believe it or not is wenger tactics couldn’t have been better

    3. OMG!………we did it!…… Against a big team…… Lets do this to chelski, Manure and pool sometimes…… Good one there Lads……we skinned citeh aLive……. What should i call u mr?…. Mr Ospina cleansheet

      1. What? were you reborn? You are the biggest “hater” of a fan I have ever seen. What happened? Did aliens take over your body?

    4. F***k all the critics, members of this forum and the entire world. This Santi Cazorla is Going to win us the League.

        1. not at all to take anything away fr santi, but i’ve seen ox and caz up their intensity in last 5 games & i think its alexis’ energy is rubbing off on them — another benefit of having alexis (and million kudos to santi, so happy to see him happier).

    5. Yesterday, u said I was moaning about people moaning. U said it was an achievement. So how is that now?

      1. Hahahaha….you mean real arsenal fans. Or should I say supporter. AOB are meant to be supporters….that means support team…and guess what team includes MANAGER….and guess what manager brought more success to ur club more than any other. So why abuse ur manager because he does not act like chelsea or mancity managers that buy trophies??? does that even make sense. Keep the bloody faith gooners and don’t wait until u are proved right because u will end up embarassed. More embarassment for the AOB to come.

    1. Accident nothing else, we still fifth and done for the title.
      Enjoy today and cry tomorrow.
      Now get ready for no signing this window.
      It’s like the fa cup, some great wins come at bad time.

      1. haha we arsenal fans never learn..too quick to praise and even quicker to judge…if 1 match would decide the season, I shall give in to your enthusiasm. If this win puts some sense in AW, great..we need to stick to this game- every match against a good team. Keep it 0-0 as long as possible. Then we the quality we have in the attack, we will score.

        Don’t think we will finish 5th though. 3rd is more like it.

  1. Manchester City 0 Arsenal 2
    I am shocked, amazed
    Its unbelievable.
    I will look at the score line all day 🙂

    1. santi cazorla – wow
      le coq – we have our dm? we just might!

      whole bloody team – yeehhaaaaahhhhhhh

      1. Cazorla was simply superb today ..
        Monreal was very good.. Le coq did the job ..
        Mertesacker was ok.. Never actually had to do much..
        Bellerin was a very good debutant to debuchy..

        That’s how we do it.. Compact.. Defend for your life and all work as a team.. It’s simple really..
        We wanted it more today.. Shame we couldn’t do it from the start of the season but if we kick on now and sign a player or 2 who knows where we will end up..

        I’m laid down Still on my diflibrilator … Whoaaaaaaa

          1. Ha ha he only made one tackle..

            That’s because we protected him – and what a brilliant job we did… Le coq Cazorla and the ox ran their hearts out..

            Awesome display.. Yes it was a one off.. But it was a well deserved win and one we must stick to and push on from..

              1. He did bugger all…!

                Neither did ospina..

                The defensive midfielder le coq and Cazorla monreal and bellerin kept them out..
                They pushed City wide so they were restricted to crosses only..
                Wake up and watch the game instead of throw away comments..
                It was a complete performance from the whole team but to single out mertetractor and say he had a good game is bordering on ridiculous.. He hardly did anything..

                1. C’mon mate, give credit where it’s due. Yes he’s been pretty bad this year but first half especially, Mertesacker was faultless and made a number of crucial interceptions.

      2. Congratulations to the entire team- this is what you call a team performance. Mert was “enormous” today- not giving Aguero a sniff, our defenders deserve credit !

  2. What a game, and how mature and disciplined a performance.. Wow.. Is this Arsenal or I am just dreaming?

    Wow..

    1. Excellent TEAM performance!! Did City create any real chances?
      Defence solid and co-ordinated; Le Coq outstanding as was Santi, and later Rosicky.
      We had to be more attacking in 2nd half, to take pressure off defence and frustrate City, and led to 2nd goal which deflated them.
      And big bonus Mike Dean actually awarded us a pen!! Wonder will never cease.
      Let’s kick on from here COYG

    1. Last week was our best performance all season and against the champions our best defensive performance, u know what i like best, not even once was a city player put clean through on goal, ospina had no one on ones, more impressively there was no two on two with our CBs against aguero! Was so impressed with the game, i must say wenger couldnt have got his tactics any better, COYG!!!

  3. I’ve always said we need a big midfield ‘beast’ to keep us strong, but Coquelin has been amazing. Hats off to the lad.

  4. Coquelin, brilliant! Cazorla, magical!

    Great game. City had the possession but had like 3-4 shots on target? Finally a big scalp.

    Oh, even the Gollum Dean had a good game!

  5. big day coyg
    give coq new contract and buyout clause 50 mil
    ooooooooooooooo santi santiiiiiiiiiiiiii love u man
    toinight gonna be good night

  6. credit where it is due…well done wenger…great tactics…well done lads!
    where are all the foking haters now?

    1. @Arunavameister
      Good to see someone actually giving credit where its due.
      Well done Wenger! good performance by the boys!

  7. SHAME on you plastic fans!!!! And I KNOW some will complain citing we should have lost so Wenger will spend. GTFO and enjoy the win!!!!

      1. It isn’t the AOB…it’s the ‘fans’ that throw the club under the bus every chance they get. Read the comments in other threads…’2-0 City because I’m a realist and not deluded’.

        ‘Hopefully not 6-0…just being real…not deluded’.

        Sick if that sh**. I’m calling punks out. Support the club or GTFO.

        1. I was also expecting a defeat … Even the most optimistic fan knows deep in his heart we might loose … that’s normal and there’s nothing wrong about it …

          1. Listen, I didn’t know or think we were going to win. I knew we had a chance and kept my mouth shut about City winning…that’s what fans do, they support the club and don’t predict negative scorelines before the game starts…against their own club, even if it’s a possibility. Always back the club.

          2. You are a hater. Don’t try to back track. We did not lose – which would make you happy – we won.

        2. @bomber

          how many times fans say were gonna win easily – an we lose games
          it works both ways.
          stop focusing on the negative- no one cares who u call out

          1. Get off your high horse. What are you the thought police? I’m celebrating a win haters predicted would NEVER happen. Don’t turn this on me wee man.

            1. celebrating is not lecturing fellow fans, an saying
              ‘i told u so’ – grow up!

              weeman is the midget from jackass
              id prefer being called by my real name- hairy fairy

        3. So i as a gooner should put my money on Arsenal in every single game they play? No thanks, ill rather stick to statistics, form and history.

          1. No, you shouldn’t put your money on Arsenal every game. If you don’t think they can win just don’t bet, rather then betting against them…which happens to often by the ‘fans’.

  8. COYG!
    Back to our best, Santi insane dribbling skills, le coq, getting better every game, as of Bellerin.
    Hopefully Rambo is ok.
    Ox was off.

    Awesome away win.
    Man ciy with Yaya are shite 🙂

    1. no , no excuses we are missing alot of players.
      that yaya toure excuse aint worth sh*t

      we beat them at the etihad- an did it well

    1. Am impressed with everybody, from the Manager, S. Bould, the players to the fans. Am super impressed with Coquelin, Bellerin £ Monreal. As for Santi, am short for words.

      David Ospina for number 1 spot henceforth.

      I still want a new manager though.

    1. Lol – seeing you happy KickAssFan, even if it is only for a short while, just adds to my brilliant day!

  9. bye bye wojciech we’ve got Oooooooooooooo(wait for it)oooospinA!!!!!!!!!!!!!f**king buzzing!!!!

  10. Fantastic results, good tactics and excellent fight … Giroud holding up play was superb, Coq was the real deal, Cazorla waoooow my man ….
    I real feel sorry for City, I wished that would have been Chelsea and not City …
    Good news : Wenger made it finally … Bad news: no more signings …

  11. As I keep saying, when Cazorla plays well we hardly lose… The guy is magic. His work rate just went up this season and Sanchez was a factor in that..

    1. I agree with u now theres no way ozil can bench him hes been immaculate for 2months straight litterally every single game

  12. Bloooody fantastic!
    Finally right tactics against big team playing away. Great performance again by the big man Carzola! COYG

  13. Giroud is doing better with top teams this seAson
    Scored aginst City today
    scored against United
    scored against City (community shield)

    Awesome day.

    1. Agree Fred, Giroud has ability to be a real leader for the team – shame about the stupid sending off.
      We need to kick on now and target 3rd as a minimum – and just keep winning in EPL and Cups
      COYG

    1. dont care, first time we beat a top side in the league in YEARS! Also the first time in years Wenger has shown some tactical discipline. He made all the right decisions finally!

  14. We did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    First of all coquelin had an incredible game along with our magician cazorla!! Bellerin was superb as well!

    Saw a lot of people complain about Ramsey in the lineup but he played fairly well, got tired at the end. We defended as a team lead by coquelin and koscielny! Beautiful performance COYG

    1. I loved the first half Ramsey. The second half Ramsey I can do without with all that bombing forward. I’d love to know what Rocisky whispered in his ear when he came on. But this isn’t the day to be negative.

  15. Most organised disciplined clever performance in the last 10 years. Absolutely brilliant!!! Look how much of a difference it makes having Le Coq in the middle?? Play him until end of the season

    1. Ospina seems to inspire confidence
      Defence looks solid now Kos is back
      Santi’s recovered his mojo, Giroud’s a notch up on last year..
      But also younger back up players have also played a BIG role ….Bellerin, Monreal, Gibbs, Le Coq, The Ox….real team spirit … which has been building thanks to Alexis’ example.
      Ramsey back + Ozil + Theo + Welbeck …
      Well done to the Prof.
      Just hope we can maintain this new spirit till the end of the season
      COYG

  16. Oh Coquelin and Santi killed it today. This may sound bad but i’m kind of glad all those injuries led to le Coq being called back, what a solid DM he has been, COYG!

    1. So beating dortmund was a fluke?? how can u do a fluke twice. we beat dortmund last year and this year. You should change name to TRUE LIES.

        1. Santi MOTM, but Coq was right up there.

          Ospina 8
          Bellerin 7.5 – only cause he was playing st in 2nd half
          Mert 8
          Kos 8
          Monreal 8
          Le Coq 9
          Ramsey 7
          Sanchez 7
          Carzola 11
          Ox 7
          OG 8

          Rosiscky 8

  17. if arsenal played like this against big teams, we would be on top of the table or close.. Cazorla was fantastic, everybody was fantastic.. Coquelin is a beast, we might just forget about a Dm until the summer and just buy a Cb cos this guy is awesome, numerous interceptions, tackles, passes, aerial duels won, i am impressed. This is exactly what chelsea did to man city last season that everybody was screaming, the truth is wenger just needs to be less stubborn and play like this away to top teams because we have the pace on the counter. It looked like a mourihno team out there!

  18. So proud of our boys today. Reminded me of times gone by when we used to challenge for the title. Play like that every week and the title is ours. Coquelin once again keeping us solid – A DM, who’d have thought it!!

  19. Brilliant team performance.
    Waited for this a loooong time
    Thank you players
    Thank you coaching staff
    Thank you Arsene.
    We can beat any one if we play like this.
    A huge boost for the rest of the season.

  20. we did not only beat this team, we frustrated em, we dominated em, we shut rm down, we screwed em, we kept a clean sheet, this is vintage arsenal! what a difference it makes to have guys like Coq show up! every player looked good, calm, composed, confident! Ospina looked great, we beat SOU and MC,

  21. Wenger deserves a big chunk of credit for finally changing tact away vs a decent team. We kept it tight and weren’t there for the taking, then we proved we have the quality to get a goal or two. Excellent tactics

    Now go buy a CB and DM so we can really push on from here and generate some genuine optimism!

  22. Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A great game. Finally beaten a big team. Coquelin in the middle was immense. Santi was simply magic. Great tactics from Wenger. COYGs

  23. Fantastic performance today from the team out there. What a way to end a long awaited victory against a top side! Coquelin looks like the beast we have been crying out and cazorla was absolutely sensational tonight.

    And lastly, kudos to le prof for learning from his mistakes and getting his tactics absolutely spot on. We sat deep, frustrated man city and didn’t overcommit. 3 fat points in the bag against a top side and hopefully many more to come. COGY!!!!

  24. That’s the potential this team has! I’ve literally heard people on this site say this is the worst arsenal team they have ever seen. We kept all of their most dangerous players in our pockets all match. Scoring two goals with Ozil and Walcott watching from the bench. Incredible performance. Let’s see what the usual moaning suspects have to say.

  25. Please everyone keep your heads to the ground, fantastic performance but this is only the beginning. This game has taught us a number of things:

    1.) We can actually defend (given the right players, and right attitude)

    2.) We still need to fix that take-it-easy attitude after we score as we evidently saw after we scored and in the beginning of the first half

    3.) If Coquelin keeps up this perforance, we may have found the defensive midfielder we need. He really adds steel to the defensive front and he is only 23 and FRENCH (like that Wenger?) .

    4.) Bosscielny keeps the defence together

    5.) We STILL need to further quality to cement the defence and defensive midfield but we have to be careful so as not to disrupt a seemingly working system.

    COYG

    1. *in the beginning of the SECOND half (it would be amazing to score a goal before the first half)

      1. @dnz
        There was a whole lot of peepz said we were gonna go through a “ground hogs day scenario” and get “whooped” was the word being bandied about…

        1. I admit I predicted 4-1 hammering. Really did not think the team would step up, but they really did.

          Glad to be proved wrong, Wenger was also spot on.

    1. I said if we won I would be happy
      with a CB and a midfielder and
      look at DM in the summer.
      I stand by that.

  26. fantastic win Boys.

    Solid defense, craft and control in midfield with decisive goals..

    Saint Santi.

    COYG!!

  27. Anybody seen th 14 pre match speech..so quick to jump on the talking s**t about arsenal going backwards…I love the king I really do..but he and the rest of the haters just ate a humble pie..first big wim in a while thank you players thank you arsen and those away fans….respect. …come on gunners fron Jamaica

  28. Lessons learnt from this superb victory
    ..Szczesny should never start again. It would take an insane error from ospina b4 he can get a chance again.
    ..Coquelin is looking like the real deal
    ..Giroud should always start above welbeck
    ..Cazorla must continue to start every game, ozil might have to be displaced. Big headache for wenger
    ..Bellerin should start above chambers in every game. Superb performance!!!!
    … Monreal actually seems a better option at LB.
    GREAT PERFORMANCE FROM EVERYONE GENERALLY!!!

      1. NBC broadcasts every EPL game. Most on TV, the rest streaming on the web(NBC Sports Extra). The pundits are not the same.

        We had Arlo White and Graham Le Seaux

  29. What a performance that was. Defended for each other, worked their socks off today. Santi was brilliant. But on a whole that was a brilliant game

    Red Army!!!!!

  30. Firstly I would like to congratulate the whole team and the coaching staff for this performance today…well done! Now I would like to add that I have never doubted about our ability to win such games even against Barca and real and Bayern (which have beaten in Munich by the way)..My frustration with Arsene however was always about the fact that we become a predictable and a team without plan B. Today we showed that we can play differently. This was actually similar to how spurs played Chelsea and destroyed them. So is it the end of Wenger being stubborn and insisting on playing always the arsenal way (open game). I hope yes….
    Finally I would like to say that I still miss Song and Fabregas in the middle but let see what Oezil whether he going to prove himself and with little bit luck we will finish 4th (our trophy). In any case I am happy and today the players gave me something to make me think positively for the future….

  31. 2013-14
    Anfield 5-1
    The Etihad 6-3
    Stamford Bridge 6-0

    2014-15
    Anfield 2-2
    The Etihad 0-2
    Stamford Bridge 2-0

    Much better, but still a lot of room for improvement!

  32. Arsenal haters, Arsenal do not rely on alexis to score, and we prove it today !!!!
    Le coq proved today that we can rely on him for the DM role, calmness, discipline……. (Y)
    A good performance from the young bellerin 😛
    COYG

  33. Forget about the two goals which he contributed to. OG won double figures in goal kick possessions, cleared away two dangerous corners, drew an important yellow on Kompany, and did everyone notice how on throw ins he made himself available and and controlled possession.

  34. Haha Pellegrini mentioned the penalty like twenty times, then said I do not want to talk about the penalty

    1. @Charlie Nick
      He also said some stupid “ish” that I did a double take on. He said that Monreal “dived”, and in the next breath said Kompany shouldn’t had made the dumb foul. When asked did he think it was a “dive”, he backtracked and clammed up…SMDH

  35. Wow the lads playing like its a final! Cazorla with that defensive work and making silva looking shitt at the same time. Coquelin: I feel stupid not watching enough of this guy before but maybe our best player on the pitch today And Koscielny? Im not gay or anything but you got to love him on the field and his professional attitude towards Arsenal, and just to mention he is top 3 cb in the world! (Kompany who??) Bellerin: Have been a fan of his a wihile now and we need to give this guy a long term contract befofore Barca come knocking. All the lads showed up!

    Sanchez really needs a rest now!!

  36. 1. Pellegrini doesn’t think it was a penalty, lol.
    2. Wenger.Changed.Tactics.

    Great all around game from everyone. Can’t say enough. Coquelin controlling the midfield like a Boss! Santi looked like Maradona. Giroud scoring on a header and sound an Arsene on the beach pose while Santi dances. Never would I have believed that we’d beat Citeh without a goal from Sanchez.

    Great day to be a Gooner!!!!

  37. And losers on here still keep underrating Cazorla… All summer they were asking for Wenger to sell him..

    smh..

    1. Thats not true. Fans were asking
      for a DM mostly and also a striker.
      If anything the fans were knocking Ozil
      in the summer.
      Giroud Wilshere Ozil Arteta were the
      whipping boys last season.
      You think we don’t remember what
      is said on these forums?

  38. Liverpoollegend Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) chimes in:“Looks like I’ll have to say something nice about Arsenal tomorrow now. #MNF”

  39. Best performance of the Season by far,100% commitment
    SANTI 10/10
    But a big shout out to Coquelin, he was immense and the reason we looked so good defensivley, loved when he gave Sanchez a rollicking for giving the ball away.
    Wenger I’m not your biggest fan but today you got everything right,

  40. The only constant is this world is change. Arsenal did not have money due to stadium, now we re getting there. Arsenal suffered lack of trophies due to this…. last year we won the FA cup. We also suffered from big games…..Now we beat the plastic CITEHHH. Arsenal never won Champs league…..hmmmmm who knows what is next….Gunners for life.

    1. Dude, It has been years since we had a bench. Check the players on our bench tonight.
      That is damn good news for CL football.

  41. And this is what we have been asking from Wenger.. Be a bit more tactical in big games.. City did not know what hit them, they thought it was going to be the same old Arsenal that just go Gung Ho in each match.. I could see them shaking and looking confused about us not attacking them for the sake of attacking..

    I loved it..

    This is the flexibility we have been asking from Wenger all along.. To be more unpredictable.

    Still Can’t believe the maturity we showed today.. I am still in shock.

    Is this Arsenal or I am just hallucinating?

    lol

  42. And THE COQ has big balls.. Sanchez is our teams superstar but in the dying moments of the first half when Sanchez gave the ball away up the pitch and we got countered, The Coq did his job first before barking and shouting at Sanchez for giving the ball away..

    What a leader and a big ball guy..

    I love his reaction…

    Hahahaha

  43. to the one ass that said he will make money
    on this game by betting city will win
    how does it feel to lose you money
    dumb ass

    1. @JHB GUNNER
      He’s still in the bar, nursing that 1st beer because he’s broke. And that babe he came with just left with me…lmfao

  44. Team played really well

    The only crap thing is that we only closed the gap with City. Southampton, Chelski, United all won. Even teams behind us won: Liverpool and Spuds.
    Also, we increased Chelski’s lead at the top. I HATE the idea of doing Chelsea, Mourinho and Fabregas a favour

    Anyway, I’m still ecstatic about our win. We played so well with players like Ozil, Walcott, Gibbs, chambers starting on thé bench. Cazorla played brilliantly. I hope Ozil can find his form and play even better than Cazorla. Competition makes players better.

    Awesome day. Even by Wenger for putting out a good lineup

  45. Today we showed maturity. All I can say is since Coquelin has been playing holding mid, we have looked a lot more resilient and less fragile. Bellerin is also looking tip top…and how was that pull back by big Merts lmao…hats off to Wenger for his tactics today and I hope he learns a lifelong lesson from this game.

    1. Ospina, Coquelin, Monreal and Bellerin give more defensive insurance than the other players that play in their position in Szcsezsny, Flamini(*), Gibbs and Chambers.

      *Flamini and Arteta try to do their best there but you can see sometimes they are not fast enough. They should be god enough against the smaller teams.

  46. Everybody is praising our little Santi which is totally deserved…we all know what qualities he’s got and how much damage he can do on his best days MOM!!But I would like to turn the light over and praise Bellerin and Coquelin! Without both contributions, I don’t think the defence would have hold that well!!Coquelin did all the dirty work in midfield, tracking back, being the first defender and covering at the back to give time for the more forward players to come help and for the defence to organise(Mertesacker never found himself outrun…against City) breaking up plays and cleanly passing the ball forward!!Looks like he’ll be here a couple of years and has the qualities to improve (which he’s already doing)!!If he continues like this and show consistency it will be difficult for both Arteta and Flamini to take him out of the 1st XI. Bellerin is coming around as well, great forward runs providing options and good defensive shifts to stop through balls and run down the flanks…must improve his decisions in final third but overall good quality over 90 minutes against a top 2 team.

  47. Awesome today. Let’s put the icing on the cake and sign our cb this week while the world’s eyes are on us! Our market values higher after today 🙂

    1. That’s what I thought…Ospina is for sure more composed and less nerve wracking and the back line can feel it…the more he will play also I think the better the understanding will be on difficult balls like the ones Monreal and Koscielny should’ve let the keeper deal with!!

  48. What does this Mean?
    Plug for Arsene,
    This I feel has always been what we have tried to move forward from in Wengers tactics. When we beat Fergies Man U in the season of Overmars Old Tradfford it was a similar performance. Sucker push win.
    Than we had seasons of development and focus on how well we can attack and became the beautiful Arsenal that everyone admired.

    Wenger needs to go back a few steps to go towards that…and I think he has hence the ability to get this performance out of the lads. He just needs to rely on it more. That was the foundation last year until injuries..

    To make that a place to successfully move on, we still require a commanding CDM who will take control like that in the 55mins today. Thankfully today we got through that thanks partly to Coq. He will be a good addition to the team as a squad man for seasons to come. But the tuff CDM needs to the main man.

    When you are playing 4 1 4 1
    The first one needs to be a commander, while the second one needs to be a finisher.

  49. I told you guys earlier in the season after Soton game in Capital cup that Coquelin is good enough to be in this team. He is better than Flamini and Arteta in turning defence to attack as well since he can pass forward instead of most of the time sideways and back.

    In the end we should’ve won atleast 3-0 and scored 1 goal from open play, since we had them at so many counter attacks but the final ball sometimes simple pass wasn’t there.

    It will be a disgrace if Wenger replaces any of Ospina, Bellerin, Monreal and Coquelin for the next League match. We should give these guys a rest against Brighton in the cup though to ensure they are fit for Villa at home. Sanchez can also rest for that match along with Cazorla.

    We still need that one CB in this window, and I was hoping the midfielder we will get would be Sissoko but it looks like Wenger is taking another of his gambles this time with Bielek.

  50. Feck me, that’s more like it. Everyone wanted the ball and we defended as a team while pressing all the time.

    None of this slow passing until someone decides they want to run with the ball (usually Alexis) today everyone did their job and more, and the result was we controlled the game.

    Great result and well played.

  51. Awesome Arsenal fans,,, Hafeez, how is this for a start??? Wenger could be waking up…. Ramsey, good game on his return… Tactics were surely sport on…..

  52. even while defending we looked classy …lol keep it up boys we need this kind of unity among players and fans

  53. Santi, Ohh what a gem. He was immense today.
    Le Coq is simply brilliant, he cleans the mess up and leaves the fancy stuff to the likes of Cazorla and TR7

  54. Just read some crap on here. You ppl are not arsenal fans you just like carping on your own team. Go and don’t come back. COYG well done lads

  55. Santis today performance cant be toped, he was simple perfect. Every player was performing well, only in my openion Ramsey and Chamberlain could have done better.

  56. Like i said many many times before, against top 4 you sit deep and counterattack. No more bombing forward!!! This has to be Steve Bould’s tactics, i cannot believe that a 64 year old man just changed his entire philosophy on football hahaha regardless though this was the single greatest performance i’ve seen our team put in. This without Ozil/Walcott or Debuchy 😀

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