Blues get caught cold by Arsenal? Just ask Manuel
MANUEL Pellegrini had West Ham aiming for European football when he welcomed former club City on the opening day of this season.
Playing the side that had racked up 198 points in the previous two campaigns represented a daunting start to that challenge, but the East London club were optimistic.
“This could be the best time to play them, before they get into the flow of the new campaign,” Mark Noble was recorded as saying in the matchday programme. “But then again, we won’t know the answer until full-time today.”
By full time, the scoreline read West Ham 0 City 5 and Noble’s words were gaining traction on social media.
And yet, despite the result, arguably the West Ham skipper wasn’t wrong.
Pep Guardiola was critical of his side’s first-half performance and grateful for an Ederson save with the score at 2-0 where the Blues could have had a tricky final 20 minutes had they conceded then.
It was just that City were clinical when they needed to be and their sharp attack was far too good for a rusty West Ham defence.
Which brings us to Arsenal and the resumption of the Premier League on Wednesday when Mikel Arteta brings his team up to the Etihad.
Dani Ceballos and Bernd Leno have followed where Noble dared to tread, articulating their belief that City can be caught cold.
“I think we can surprise them because nobody has the rhythm, nobody knows
City were laughably better than Arsenal when the two teams played in December Simon Bajkowski
how it goes and I’m pretty sure that we can have a good start,” said the goalkeeper. Confidence is understandably growing at the Emirates as they get accustomed to what life will be like under Arteta, who is seen as a figure that can galvanise a club which has fallen from the top of the league in recent years with top-four fights replacing title tilts.
There is also possible merit in playing City after three months off.
Had the fixture gone ahead as originally planned, the Blues were in a better run of form despite losing the derby the previous week. However, whether that optimism will be enough to make a significant difference on the pitch remains to be seen.
City have won their last six meetings with the Gunners in all competitions and were laughably better when the teams played in December.
And as West Ham found out at the beginning of the season, lack of rhythm cannot hide a gulf in quality for too long.
Guardiola said after the West Ham game that it wasn’t necessary to tell his players how they needed to improve in the second half. They shouldn’t need reminding before kick-off on Wednesday night.