Is draw really enough for Arsenal at Man City?

Right now I reckon that most Arsenal fans, and probably our manager Arsene Wenger as well, would snap your hand off if you offered them a draw from our up and coming away game in the Premier League, because this weekend’s trip to Man City looks at the moment to be the hardest of all the fixtures we will face this season.

Pep Guardiola and his players are flying high and looking like the real deal, while the Gunners are not exactly firing on all cylinders despite some good results, so most of us are hoping that the boss prepares his players to be hard to beat at the Etihad stadium on Sunday and hope to snatch a win.

Is that really enough for Arsenal, though? We are currently nine points behind the league leaders and to have a realistic hope of challenging for the EPL trophy this season you would say that we have to start closing that gap before too long.

Can we really afford to take a point and hope that City start to slip up in other games? Surely a side with title aspirations should be the ones to really put City to the test and there are other reasons why playing for a draw might not be enough.

Having closed to within a point of north London rivals Tottenham, it would be hard for Arsenal fans to see that gap open up again and the spuds have a home game against Crystal Palace this weekend which you expect them to win.

I am not saying that the Gunners should go on the all out attack in Manchester, but I do think we should be trying to win and if that means taking a few mopre risks then I think we have to consider if the reward is worth the risk. If not, have we already given up on being the next Premier League champions?

Bob.

18 Comments

  1. We have to beat City, and then Spurs back-to-back to have any chance of the title. I am not stupid enough to think we could still win it, but we HAVE to win both these games to stand any chance if the title if it is a possibility. It doesn’t matter about the performances, only the results matter given the amount of ground we already have to make up.

    I go into in the game with City not sure what to think. We’ve been poor so far this season in tough games, but we do have a good record against City, which means victory isn’t such a psychological barrier to get over, as it would be at the likes of Anfield, Old Trafford, and Stamford Bridge. As I mentioned the other day, when Arsenal have an “off day”, we’re horrific! When we have an “on day”, we’re one the best around, as we saw against Everton. Our “on days” have become a lot more rarer though, and given City’s form, it could end up being an absolute battering!

    Should be a great game to watch, attack vs attack, and as strange as it may seem, I honestly cannot call it, despite how good City are, and how bad we are.

    6-1 to City if they win, or 1-2 to Arsenal if we win.

    1. We have to roll back few years and think when was the last time we won back to back 2 matches against top 6 teams.

      Anyone? Matter of fact, when was the last time we won away against a top 6 team?

      I think it was Man City away, about 3 years ago.

  2. It will be very foolish of me to predict the scoreline. If City play their “A” game, there is no stopping them. We are massive underdogs for this one

  3. We have a pretty decent record against City in recent years. In fact, we have not lost to them (home or away) since 2013. We’ve beaten them in the league, FA Cup, Community Shield, and friendlies. I say it’s all about how we approach this game. If we go there with a winning mentality, we might come away with all 3 points. But if we go there with a state of mind that a draw is acceptable then we probably won’t get anything.

      1. We lost to City last December 2-1. Back to back defeats against Everton and City. That was when our season died.

  4. A point would be good enough!

    Will give us a boost and set us up for Tottenham….

    Maybe stereotype Arsenal fan – negative but believe we are fighting for top 4 not title!

    Like Wenger to go for League Cup and Europa League?

  5. I will be very happy with a draw.
    City are blowing out teams right and left. We are playing City away in Manchester. Even if we were playing them at home, it would still be tough but to play them in their home is going to be unbelievably difficult. Getting a draw is a good result. Would love a win but very happy with a draw.

  6. This article is pure pap and nonsense in it’s lack of anything new or important to actually say. Quote(approx)”to have a realistic hope of catching the nine points deficit, we have to start reducing the gap before long”; er, yes, and to have a hope of staying alive we have to breath every few seconds. And if it rains and we don’t wear a coat we will get wet, etc etc. Mind blowing new information it aint! How about this instead: To have any hope in hell of ever getting anywhere near City in ambition,top players and league points, we need a complete clear out of all the appalling dross who run our club at every level. We then need a new and ambitious owner who is also a diehard fan, a manager who is younger, in touch with the reality of how to coach, select balanced teams and and who understands that top teams care how to and know how to defend. We need a new board of 35-65 year old men and women who can run a big business and who have had the relevant experience. They should also always treat the club’s lifeblood, US FANS, with respect, not with disdainful arrogance . Then and ONLY THEN, we might , just might, have a realistic hope of ever reducing the huge chasm between us and Man City, and other top clubs worldwide. Now THAT is worth saying, even though to most of us, it too, is scarcely news.

  7. It is a must not lose game but if we are to believe anything about title aspirations well then the only way to get back into a title scrap is to drag ourselves back into it by scraping three points out of this game, by the fingernails if needs be.

    Nine points behind doesn’t put it out of reach, but with the games ahead nine points is a mountain to climb without our ropes. We really need to bring it, to talk about title chances while keeping a straight face the only way it doesn’t come across as hot air is if we prove we are still in the fight.

    A draw would not be bad, but what would a title rival really be looking to do in this game. They’d be preparing for it for over the week or days leading up to it, they’d be watching city closely and have a set game plan with a way of making ourselves not so nice a team to play against. City will probably be looking forward to facing Arsenal, like how we like playing teams who come out and open up a game. So we need a disciplined game, our strikers need to be proper hungry, defenders need to be in an ungenerous mood, CM needs to get that ball past cities midfielders and into forward space. Disciplined but proactive at the precise times, we need a big performance from the entire team.

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