Manchester City Leapfrogs Arsenal
The season that started with a bang in North London now looks like more of the same old, same old.
Arsenal's been good but not championship good for the past several years, now.
Dudes had a boffo August, which included a 3-2 pre-season comeback over Manchester City in Göteborg, Sweden.
Seems like the Sky Blues took notes. And now, they've overtaken the Gunners:
Heavyweight contenders for the crown themselves but no longer favorites, City mounted the charge from behind this time -- when it counted -- to deflate Arsenal, 2-1.
If there's anything wrong with a quick opening goal, it could be that the scoring side lulls into a false sense of security. Maybe that's what happened when Theo Walcott popped a virtual gimme only five minutes after kickoff:
If any side should resist putting a match in the hands of its defense, it's Arsenal. Still, they protected that 0-1 lead all the way to intermission.
But afterward, reality set in.
Leroy Sané may have been the Citizens' worst transfer pickup this season, but he's slowly made amends for his mistakes. And two minutes after the break, he added to the positive column in his account:
|
Damn. He'd better not miss chances like that.
Speaking of overpriced, it'd be easy to include Raheem Sterling in that crowd. However like Sané, he's making amends here and there.
In this one, the 71st minute was one of the here and there variety:
|
So, shoo. Nothing new to see.
Why does Arsenal love fourth place so much?
Something about seeking their own level, perhaps.
Fix the D, Monsieur Wenger. As if he hasn't heard that before.