
Unai Emery started his Arsenal campaign as the Arsenal Boss against the last season champions,Man City, and the result made it quite evident why the Gunners finished 37 points behind them.
"Let's not judge Arsenal on this performance against the best team in the land."#ARSMCI reaction 👉 https://t.co/jHS8bQckO3#bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/RBMj5zKsjm
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 12, 2018
Though the players are still getting used to the new playing style under Emery and his new signings which was evident Man City,Emery is trying his best to bring on a new change,a new era after the 22 years of Arsene Wenger.
Along with Emery, a few of his new signings, namely, Sokratis, Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner also made their Premier League debuts.Lucas Torriera also made an appreance for the Gunners against Man City in his short 20 minute cameo. Although the reaction from the fans was mixed, they bring a new hope for Arsenal.
MATTEO GUENDOUZI
Guendouzi was given a place in the starting line-up vs Man City in the heart of the midfield against and though,the youngster might have made a lot of mistakes due to his inexperience, like the one near-disastrous incident with Aguero,he never hid,he understood his mistakes,didn’t let them get to him,smiled and went ahead with the game giving his best against Man City.
🗣 "Yes, he found it tough going at times against City but what impressed me was his attitude and effervescence. It would have been easy to hide – let's face it, others in the Arsenal side did – but he was still demanding the ball"
– Ian Wright about Matteo Guendouzi [The Sun] pic.twitter.com/idouKfPn0U
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) August 14, 2018
Guendouzi is the raw talent who lacks sharpness, which he might learn under Emery, but what set him apart from all the other players was his energy throughout the game vs Man City. The David Luiz look-alike ignored the fact that he was playing against a top-class team like Man City and played his game with full enthusiasm winning the ball on his own on multiple occasions. All in all, if a 19-year-old can sweep the fans off their feet on just his debut, I think we have a lot of unseen potential in this kid who just might make a permanent place in the heart of our midfield.
SOKRATIS PAPASTHATHOPOULOS
Arsenal’s Greek signing turned out to be one of the best defenders of the night as he showed the Gooners what impact an experienced player can have on the team.To debut against the Man City,the champions is the hardest it can get and Sokratis proved that he could be an asset in our central defense.He won some good challenges, in the air as well as on the ground and coped up with Man City’s strikers pretty well too.
Was worried about Sokratis going into this one, but he's been quite solid, have to say.
— Sash ~ (@ltarsenal) August 12, 2018
The center-back though seems to lack the pace needed and doesn’t look comfortable with the ball at his feet might be a problem looking at Emery’s plans to play out from the back.But the fact that he gave a classy performance in his first ever Premier League game gives us an image of the ways he can improve under Unai Emery.
STEPHEN LICHTSTEINER
The right-back got his debut as a replacement for Ainsley Maitland-Niles who got injured vs Man City at the 35th minute of the match.The experienced right-winger was made to play out of position on the left side of the defense, who covered the left wing pretty well for the major part, but gave way for Man City to score their second goal.
Age is no barrier 🚫
What did you make of @LichtsteinerSte during his debut today?#ARSMCI pic.twitter.com/30liRCsTmH
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 12, 2018
His experience made our defence more solid and tried to come up front whenever he saw the chance, making our side dynamic and assertive against Man City.When Benjamin Mendy got to the byline and cut the ball back to the penalty spot, Lichtsteiner was the right side of Bernando Silva and should have been alert to the danger.
I personally think that given the chance on the right wing, he would prove everyone what he’s capable of and given the fact that he played out of position, he played very well for his debut even in a wrong position against Man City.
LUCAS TORREIRA
Arsenal fans got to see a little bit of the Uruguayan Midfielder with only 20 minutes left for the game to end but showed some good signs on the field and the Arsenal midfield looked more intact when he came on. He pressed hard when Man City had possesion and showed some real quality in terms of passing.
Premier League debut for Lucas Torreira.
In 20 minutes, Torreira already showed why Arsenal signed him. Assumes defensive responsibility, breaks up the play and has the vision and quality to spot a pass.
The Uruguayan should start vs. Chelsea next week. pic.twitter.com/Qg2gaIs8pq
— Warriors of Uruguay (@UruguayanHeroes) August 12, 2018
Arsenal did improve when the substituiton was made and that ball to Aubameyang which was unfortuantely ruled offside was beautiful. Torreira is exactly what Arsenal midfield need at the moment and the new signing will surely be a key figure in the team as the season passes.
Arsenal now face Chelsea at Stanford Bridge in what will be their first away game of the season and given their last season’s away record,Gunners would like to improve their form away from home and Unai Emery will surely have that in his mind. It is one of the games of the season and it will be interesting to see which of these players who made their debut vs Man City will hold their place in the London Derby.