Yellow display leaves us looking a soft touch

SOMEHOW our brisk walk back to the car on Saturday seemed so much longer.

But then I guess that having not enjoyed a home win against the Arsenal for over 15 years, City fans were entitled to savour their moment.

Watching the highlights was strange. I’m still perplexed as to why we were playing in yellow, as the red and white of Arsenal against the sky blue of City is such a footballing classic. The replays of us hitting the woodwork and missing several chances might lead one to conclude that we were merely victims of bad luck and a Thierry Henry who’s struggling to find some form. That hardly tells the whole story.

Once again, the Gunners were guilty of overplaying, as the pretty passing produced so little end product. Yet in my opinion this is a symptom of Le Prof’s problems, not the cause. Our efforts to walk the ball into the net are nothing to do with an obsession with goalscoring perfection. It’s evidence we’re lacking leaders prepared to grasp the nettle and take responsibility in front of goal.

Aged only 19, Fabregas is already capable of controlling the tempo of the game. Given time, he may grow into the role of a player capable of rallying his troops. But as yet, Cesc doesn’t have the presence to dominate the centre of the park, by displaying a point blank refusal to accept defeat.

They’d been debating in the boozer whether any of the boys in the current squad would merit a place in Le Prof’s Class of ‘98 (with the exception of Henry, although on current form, I’m not even sure he’d be a certainty).

It was the loss of stature after Vieira’s departure, which saw us taken for a soft touch last season. There was a halo effect with our Champions League run that saw us regain some of our former respect. Instead of wanting to take us on, our opponents’ approach became much less ambitious.

Perceptions are important and after only two games we’ve given away this advantage. Unless Wenger can find a way of rectifying this immediately, all future opposition will be encouraged by the way in which we’ll be represented in the media as no longer such a force to be reckoned with.

It’s strange how times have changed. I can’t remember a time when Gooners were delighted to see the despised Red Devils topping the table, making a mockery of the massive investment in Chelsea’s challenge. In the unlikely event of United pipping us to the title by three points, in retrospect, City fans might not be rejoicing about Saturday’s win.

Meanwhile, roll on the Champions League.

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