Arsenal suffered another frustrating loss to Manchester City who scored three goals in Sunday’s entertaining tie at the Etihad stadium.
Though the Gunners found the back of Ederson’s net via Laurent Koscielny, but that wasn’t enough to help them salvage a draw against the Premier League reigning champions.
A hat-trick from Sergio Aguero saw the Etihad outfits return to the second position while Arsenal move a step down to the 6th position behind Manchester United. Apart from the goals conceded, Unai Emery’s men were unconvincing in their overall performance.
Arsenal’s midfield was dominated by the homes side from start to finish and the Gunners were made to labour hard to get the ball. The North London club couldn’t string four to five passes together throughout the game.
Irrespective of the fact that in-form Matteo Guendouzi and workaholic Lucas Torreira were in the starting XI, they were disjointed at the middle which automatically affected the number of goalscoring chances they created all through the one-sided affair.
With such uninspiring display at the middle, it is now obvious Unai Emery must pursue the signing of Paris St-German’s want-away midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The Frenchman was linked with a move to the Emirates stadium during the recently concluded transfer market but Thomas Tuchel surprisingly prevented all deals from materializing before the end of the transaction period.
The 23-years-old was one of Unai Emery’s most trusted players during his days at Parc des Princes stadium. He is a very versatile midfielder who is used to the Spaniard’s tactical approach, therefore, he won’t waste much time adapting to the Gunners style of play.
Across 150 appearances in all outings, Rabiot has netted 13 goals and his move to Arsenal will equally add more strength to the team’s attacking prowess next season.
With Aaron Ramsey set to join Juventus next season, Rabiot — who is in the final year of his contract — seems the best man to replace the departing Welshman in the summer and he could be gotten for free.