City beat the Gunners 3-0 in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, delivering a commanding second-half performance to dismantle Arsene Wenger’s side and win the first trophy of the season.
And ESPN’s Simon Curtis believes that game was indicative of the direction the two teams are currently headed in.
“As Manchester City prepare to meet Arsenal, the contrast in the two clubs’ fortunes could not be starker,” Curtis writes.
“After City’s strolling 3-0 victory at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, the two clubs seem set on irrevocably divergent paths. The respective managers, too, seem to inhabit different football planets these days. Arsene Wenger, innovator of old, nutritionist, breath of fresh air and serial winner has morphed into a sombre shadow of himself, with an overpriced, underperforming side that does him precious little justice.
“Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, is riding the crest of a wave. Rinsed of a thoroughly frustrating first 12 months in English football, his ideas and enthusiasm have turned this City side into one of the most exhilarating spectacles in world football. Short passing, possession, vigorous pressing, flying ever-mobile full backs and a goalkeeper who could feasibly play in midfield... City have it all. And the energy and enthusiasm just seems to keep on coming.”
Meanwhile, Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer at the Independent, says City need to mindful of what happened after our League Cup success in 2016.
Back then, City beat Liverpool to lift the trophy after a shoot-out win - but then lost badly at Anfield just a few days later in the Premier League.
“Even before Manchester City had finished celebrating on Sunday, Vincent Kompany had a warning for the very next game, that also happens to be their very next match against Arsenal,” Delaney writes.
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“That was because of an almost identical situation the EFL Cup winners found themselves in two years ago.
““We beat Liverpool in the League Cup final, and then three days later, we went to Anfield and got absolutely peppered,” Kompany said of that 3-0 defeat. “I’ll be the first one to mention that on Thursday, because Arsenal will be up for it.”
“It is a dynamic that has actually often been seen in such double-fixtures in the past, especially when the second game is the least significant of the two, and the winners of the first might feel a sense of job done. It is also a dynamic that could be doubled down for this game because of the exact nature of the criticism Arsenal received for Sunday’s 3-0 defeat.
“They won’t just be looking to make up for a lost final, but so much lost pride. Not for the first time, virtually everything about the first team and the entire club has been questioned, but this did feel a first in how deep it went. The criticism for once went right beyond Arsene Wenger, as so many of the players were called for apparent surrender and in some cases walking back to their goal when City were attacking. That could well sting Arsenal into a response, even if it is one of those classic Arsenal responses, getting a job done after the real damage has actually been done; a 2-0 second-leg win after losing the first leg 4-0.”
And Simon Bajkowski, writing for the Manchester Evening News, has highlighted City’s wealth of options at centre-back ahead of tonight’s game.
“Can Vincent Kompany pull out another showstopping performance for the second time in five days?” Bajkowski writes. “Guardiola must be tempted to try and find out given the way the Belgian bounced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off the ball.
“He was excellent alongside Nicolas Otamendi, but there is also Aymeric Laporte and John Stones eager to impress.
“It is a wonderful dilemma for the manager to have as he contemplates his team for Thursday, but having picked two for their specific qualities against the Gunners on Sunday it would be a surprise if he changed his mind for the Emirates clash.”
That’s all for this morning’s media roundup. Stay with us throughout the day as we continue to gear up for tonight’s big game.
