Gone to ruin
Pep: ‘I’m so happy for club’
to survive – the City keeper always seems to have at least one calamity in him and thankfully for him Aubameyang could not take advantage when he rushed from his goal to completely miss his kick.
Four minutes later it really was all over. If the opening goal was a pathetic piece of individual defending, this was an abject collective abomination. Kevin De Bruyne side-footed a corner to Ilkay Gundogan on the edge of the Arsenal area without a challenge in sight and his shot was redirected by Kompany to wrong-foot Ospina and double the lead. The third was only a matter of when, not if.
Chambers, in his latest horror-show before being SAMIR NASRI has been banned from football following an investigation into the intravenous drip treatment he received at a Los Angeles clinic while on holiday.
Nasri’s legal representative in the case said a six-month suspension had been imposed by UEFA. Reports in Spain, however, suggested the ban could be as long as a year.
The former Arsenal and Manchester City playmaker received 500 millilitres of hydration in December 2016. World Anti-Doping Agency rules state there is a 50 millilitre infusion limit per six-hour period. unceremoniously withdrawn, was spun round in a circle by David Silva, who chose the 64th minute to open his EFL Cup account for the club. Enough was enough, it seemed. City retreated into their shells ahead of a rematch on Thursday – one they can enter in full expectation of a similar superiority. Sadly for Arsenal, that gap in class is palpable. This will not be the biggest trophy Guardiola will win at City. He could still land two bigger pots even this season. But as the gold ticker-tape swamped the City players moments after their Arsenal counterparts stumbled up the steps for their losers’ medals, one could not imagine Wenger ever seeing success here again. Premier League – where we will try to win the rest of our games – and the Champions League.
“This trophy is for Manchester City, not me. I’m so happy for the club. I can’t forget how they took care of me last season when it wasn’t so good. I always remember how Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon Al Mubarak supported me.”
Perfectionist Guardiola was unhappy with City’s first half even though Aguero had given them the lead following a mistake by Shkodran Mustafi.
Guardiola said: “In the first half we were not good, there were a lot of mistakes. In the second half we played with a lot more courage and personality – we were outstanding. The players know that if we play like we did in the first half we will not go far in the Champions League. But if we play like we did in the second half we will go far.”
Kevin De Bruyne has his eyes on a trophy treble after hailing City as the best footballing team in the world. “The potential for this club is amazing,” he said. “The way we play is probably the best in the world.
“We’ve had a good season already and now we need to keep going. We have this one in the bag and now we have to maintain the same focus in the Premier League and the Champions League.”
Arsenal came in for heavy criticism for their performance. TV pundit Gary Neville accused them of “not turning up”.
Manager Arsene Wenger admitted: “When you lose 3-0 and make mistakes, you have to accept you will be criticised. You have to look at defending better. Against quality teams you pay for a loss of concentration.”
The one black spot for City is that Fernandinho limped off with a hamstring injury.
Guardiola said he would ignore an FA charge and continue to wear his yellow ribbon in support of imprisoned Catalan politicians.
“I will accept the fine but before being a football manager I am a human being,” he said.