It wasn’t so long ago that Kieran Tierney was one of our best and most-reliable performers and a fan-favourite to boot. From his passion and performance on the pitch, his Tesco-toting ways, or his utter refusal to dress sensibly on cold day, it really felt like he had nailed down a firm position in the XI. Fast-forward a year, and Tierney is very much out in the cold, with persistent, nagging rumours eating away at his tenure. Injuries haven’t helped, and there’s the arrival of Zinchenko.
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Can you bottle what no one expected you to win in the first place?
Well, that was unexpected, said no one ever. Arsenal went into the Etihad desperately needing a win on the back of three consecutive draws against a side that hadn’t lost at home since Gutenberg invented the printing press and failed. Man City did what Man City does, namely, amassing enormous squad depth through entirely legiitimate methods and cake-walking past anyone who dares to stand in their path. Much the of the pre-match chatter focused on how Arsenal would bottle it, but, really, how can you bottle something that no one saw you having a chance at bottling in the first place?
Continue readingGuardiola admits his players are SCARED before Arsenal clash!
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s clash of TItans (well, at least one titan…), Pep Guardiola admitted that he and his players will be “a little bit nervous”—his own words—as they prepare to face Arsenal in what could very well coronate a champion. To be honest, Man City have an inside track on an inside track here; should they win or even draw, their chance at winning the Prem skyrocket. Should we achieve the impossible, we improve our chances modestly. Still, the idea that the likes of Haaland or Rodri or De Bruyne are nervous might give us an edge.
Continue readingBad at the Etihad: Arsenal’s secret to defeating Man City…
Okay, so we’re grasping at straws. Saliba’s season looks to be over, with surgery an increasingly likely option. We’ve staggered to three draws in which we’ve conceded seven goals to Liverpool and relegation fodder sides. Wednesday’s visit to the Etihad looms larger with each passing day…and it’s with that in mind that we look at Man City’s record on their own ground against London clubs to take away a glimmer of a semblance of something resembling hope: Man City’s last four defeats at the Etihad have come against teams from London.
Continue readingMikel’s master plan is beguiling Guardiola…
The current doom-and-gloom around the club is palpable, and why wouldn’t it be? We’ve now dropped four or six points depending on your maths, and it doesn’t look like Saliba will return to the fold anytime soon. What once looked like a worrying wobble has started to more closely resemble a full-on implosion. A draw away to Liverpool? Most of us take that—except that following it with two more draws to relegation fodder feels ex post facto like all three make for an unholy triumvirate. Still, maybe—just maybe, this is all part of a game of 4D chess…
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