A great win, but one with a caveat

IN light of the Arsenal’s abysmal recent record against our immediate rivals, we were tickled pink to come away from Sunday’s game with three points, as it was looking like an encounter that was either going to leave us clinging to Chelsea’s coat-tails as a credible challenger, or battling it out with the also-rans for Champions League qualification.

Nevertheless I was so keen to see us lay down some sort of marker against Man City, that I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment that our comprehensive 3-0 triumph was somewhat cheapened, by the way in which the ref Clattenburg reduced the home side to 10 men in the opening minutes, thereby leaving Mancini able to contend (albeit almost unintelligibly) that his team would’ve won the day if it’d been an even contest.

It’s hard to argue, as City looked good value in those opening moments. With Richards running riot down their right flank and Silva pulling the strings with his silky skills, City looked more than capable of posing a threat against any defence. You only had to see their vastly expensive bench to suspect that City’s strength in depth is likely to serve them well when other sides might start to hit the wall in the Premier League marathon.