Match Report: Wilshere Stars in the Thick of Arsenal-City Scrap
It was a case of the good outweighing the bad and the ugly from Jack Wilshere, as he starred in a blood and thunder draw with reigning champions City at the Emirates.
The intensity of the game certainly appeared to get to the England international for moments of the first half in particular, with the bad as mentioned, often coming as a consequence of the ugly. In the opening 45 minutes he was certainly fortunate to avoid a booking (or two), with a dive and a kick out at former Gunner Gael Clichy, and as he looked to get into the thick of the action it disrupted his passing game a little, with a modest 78% pass accuracy come the final whistle.
The young midfielder was clearly on a mission to silence his critics and, along with Flamini and Ramsey in the midfield, showed plenty of bite early on, with a lack of as much being a criticism often attributed to the North Londoners. It was actually an extremely scrappy affair in central areas for the first hour or so, with Wenger claiming that City were 'systematically fouling' his players in order to restrict their tempo. In truth both sides probably gave about as good as they got - with Arsenal committing 11 fouls to City's 15 - in game that neither could really get a hold of in the middle of the park; perhaps a direct consequence of the absence of Yaya Toure.
Nevertheless Arsenal started brightly and there could easily have been a debut goal for Danny Welbeck after a misjudged David Silva backpass, but for the thickness of a post. While the hosts looked up for the battle more than they had in some such meetings last season there was a familiar problem that persisted.
On multiple occasions in the first half when a move broke down they were left exposed at the back, particularly in behind the full-backs. Jesús Navas was arguably the visitors' strongest threat in the opening 45 and his mismatch with Monreal proved decisive. Arsenal's Spaniard couldn't get near to City's all afternoon and the latter capitalised on a break of play to scamper down the right before providing the assist for Sergio Aguero's opener with a trademark low cross into the box. Monreal was nowhere to be seen.
Pellegrini clearly pinpointed Arsenal's weakness at defending on the counter and, without the aforementioned Toure, the vast majority of their most dangerous attacks came down the flanks. The away side had just 24% of their attacking touches through the middle of the pitch, with Arsenal's respective proportion at 41% in comparison. With Debuchy now set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, the lack of cover at the back is a real concern that Wenger is managing to mask, for now.
The Frenchman had sympathy for referee Mark Clattenburg - something that certainly couldn't be said of his counterpart in the opposing dugout - in a game he admitted was a tough one to be in charge of. The nature of the game is perhaps best summed up by the fact that since the start of last season only one Premier League match - Manchester United vs Liverpool back in March - saw more tackles made between the two sides than Saturday's early kick-off (67). The 36 produced by City was the most they had mustered in the league under Pellegrini, with the 31 from Arsenal bettered just once since the start of last season.
It was Wenger's side who finally managed to gain an edge in the middle though, which led to them going from behind to in front in the space of 11 minutes. The man at the heart of that shift was Wilshere, exploiting the fact that Fernandinho still looks a man haunted by his World Cup nightmare over the summer, picking up the lowest rating from WhoScored for his side on the day (6.31).
While Pellegrini was furious at what he felt were multiple fouls on Aguero in the build up to Arsenal's equaliser, the home side capitalised on what the Chilean adjudged as good fortune with a superb goal. Sanchez found Ozil - who again hardly had a game to remember with another relatively apathetic display - and the German's slightly underhit pass saw Wilshere opt to drag the ball past Clichy before dispatching an exquisite chip for only his second ever league goal at the Emirates.
The midfielder's assist for Sanchez's fine volleyed strike that gave the hosts the lead should not be underestimated either, with his perfectly weighted and placed header teeing up the former Barca forward. Wilshere was involved again moments later, and at either end, with Pellegrini's other major gripe coming after the midfielder handled the ball in the box. He then broke free to embark on an excellent run and provided a delightful chip to set up Aaron Ramsey, who couldn't get the contact required to make it 3-1. The Welshman has cast Wilshere into the shadows somewhat over the last year or so but the latter was certainly the star of the show - awarded WhoScored.com's man of the match with a rating of 9.65 - after a first half in which he looked frustrated and struggled to settle, along with the majority on the field.
The Gunners were eventually undone by a routine set piece, opting for zonal marking and ending up marking zones with no one else in them. Demichelis' late leveller came as he and two other City players burst past Ozil, who merely stood and watched them as the Argentine defender's powerful, unmarked header beat Szczesny. The visitors could then have won it at the death were it not for a smart stop from the pole to deny Dzeko, who should have scored, to ensure that Arsenal ended a game they probably should have seen out content with a point.
In a match sprinkled wit quality the hosts at least showed that they were very much up for the fight when it mattered.
Did the game this weekend suggest that Arsenal will be able to compete at the very top this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
