Winners and Losers: Manchester City (h)

New year, same bull****. But perhaps also, a new Arsenal. The Gunners hosted the reigning champions at the Emirates on the first day of 2022. City arrived in north London as heavy favorites, with Pep Guardiola leading a team so heavily stacked with talent that £100 million signing Jack Grealish didn’t make it off the bench. However, things changed quickly when a deft Bukayo Saka strike gave Arsenal a deserved lead. But despite the home side being the better one for roughly an hour, a dubious penalty and red card awarded against Arsenal turned the tide and allowed City to escape with a miraculous 2-1 victory. Below are five winners and three losers from perhaps the best performance the Emirates has hosted in years.

Winners

Bukayo Saka

Saka, Arsenal’s best player for almost two years at this point, is no longer one for the future. The young Englishman is realizing his potential, right here, right now. With three goals in his last two games, Saka is finding his shooting boots and taking the next step toward becoming an elite footballer. While he had stiff competition from his teammates for the title of best player on the pitch, he consistently outclassed his markers, particularly Nathan Ake. If at the age of 20 the best team in Europe on paper is quadruple-teaming you, that augers well for the player you are and can become.

Thomas Partey

This is who we were waiting for when Partey first arrived from Atletico Madrid. The Ghanaian ran the show in midfield today, driving forward with power, using his physicality to overwhelm City players, and dropping a shoulder from time to time to outfox his man. He increased the danger presented by Arsenal’s attack with smart forward passes. Partey was a proper general in the middle of the park today for his side. Unfortunately, this is his last appearance before he leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations. But if he can return in this form, his £45 million transfer fee might start to look like a bargain.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

What more can be said about Tomiyasu at this juncture? Up against Raheem Sterling, one of the most terrifying wingers in Europe, the Japanese defender was once again tremendous. In fact, according to Squawka, the Arsenal right-back won 100% of his ground duels. But in possession, Tomiyasu was also effective, allowing Arsenal to adequately attack down the left against even Manchester City. As a two-way player, the former Bologna man is as reliable as they come, reminiscent of Bacary Sagna.

Gabriel Martinelli

Martinelli was inches away from having his breakout game against arguably the best team in the world. The young Brazilian took five shots against City, which is no small feat. One of them should have flown into an empty net, but Martinelli can likely be forgiven for that considering he had to dart around an awkwardly positioned Stuart Attwell to take the shot in the first place. He had the better of Joao Cancelo, easily one of the best full-backs in the world, on multiple occasions. While Saka wreaked havoc down the right, Martinelli marauded on the left flank against some of the best opposition he will likely ever face. The level of ability that requires should not go unrecognized.

Mikel Arteta

After contracting COVID-19 for a second time, the manager was unfortunately unable to physically attend Saturday’s proceedings. But despite his absence, Arsenal played some of the loveliest and most exciting football they have since the Arsene Wenger era. For two years, the jury has been out on Arteta. Public opinion of the Spaniard among the Arsenal faithful has oscillated regularly. But it’s quite clear at this point that he is inspiring something remarkable within the squad. For them to play the way they did without Arteta on the sideline speaks to that. It’s too early to say whether Arteta will be successful. But by now, he has certainly earned some patience.

Losers

Granit Xhaka

Before and after the penalty he gave away, Xhaka was immense, make no mistake. It would be mightily unfair to pin City’s first goal on him. But unfortunately, it was the Swiss midfielder who pulled Bernardo Silva’s shirt as the City man threw himself to the ground. He committed the action that Attwell harshly decided warranted a penalty kick for the visitors. And unfortunately, because of his reputation as a man who sees red in multiple senses from time to time, many among the Arsenal faithful will hold the against him.

Gabriel

Another harshly treated Gunner on the day was Gabriel. The Brazilian defender earned two yellow cards in quick succession in the second half, resulting in a sending off that all but handed an insurmountable advantage to City. Both cards were harsh — the first for merely questioning the referee’s awarding of the penalty to Arsenal’s opponents, and the second for a relatively routine foul (his first and only of the match) committed on the halfway line. While Gabriel was yet another outstanding performer throughout his time on the pitch, the contribution that will be remembered by most with respect to this match is the red card Stuart Attwell was so quick to show him.

The Premier League

It’s getting exhausting at this point. Every few weeks, Arsenal seem to come up against officials who are quick to show cards, make bad calls, refuse to overturn what should constitute clear and obvious errors, or simply refrain from applying VAR as it was supposedly meant to be. And yet, nothing changes. Despite being the most competitive league in football, the Premier League’s standards for refereeing are practically amateur. There are too many unremarkable men with the Premier League badge on who need to regularly be the main character. They are allowed to decide games and entire seasons without any real accountability. Stuart Attwell himself was removed from PL officiating duty for four years due to incompetence, according to the Daily Cannon. But the league reinstated him. And sure enough, he once again made a mess of a match that was too big for him. Until the league decides to up their standards, it will regularly feel like Arsenal are playing twelve men instead of the usual eleven.

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