Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Arteta favourite must go, 31-year-old probably will: 3 things learnt from Arsenal defeat last night
Arsenal fell to a meek 3-0 away defeat at the hands of Manchester City on their Premier League return to action on Wednesday night, a game littered with errors from Mikel Arteta’s side.
David Luiz, who came on in the 24th minute for the injured Pablo Mari, failed to clear the ball just before half time, which enabled Raheem Sterling to open the scoring.
The Brazilian then conceded a penalty and was sent off for pulling Riyad Mahrez back, with Kevin De Bruyne duly slotting in for City’s second.
Phil Foden then made it three in injury time as the reigning Premier League champions enjoyed a bright return to proceedings at the expense of the Gunners.
So what lessons were there to take from the defeat? TBR takes a look.
David Luiz shouldn’t get a second season at Arsenal
While Luiz’s display against Man City was calamitous to say the least, it can hardly be described as a one-off – he’s sadly become somewhat renowned for such performances.
Indeed, he made a howler in the recent friendly with Brentford, following it up with his 25 error-strewn minutes at the Etihad, culminating in his side being two goals and a man down.
Although Arteta at Arsenal due to his positive dressing-room influence, he simply hasn’t been delivering on the pitch – and with his contract running out, he shouldn’t be kept.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang running out of seasons to stay
The Arsenal talisman’s future at the Emirates remains in doubt, given his contract runs out next summer.
For a player of his quality, the 31-year-old really ought to get the chance to play for a team challenging for league titles and Champions league trophies.
Aubameyang cut an increasingly frustrated figure as the game went on, his body language appearing off, his shoulders dropping – and can you blame him?
It’s going to be a rocky road back to the top, and Arteta needs time
Building on the above point, Aubameyang is a player who deserves top silverware – and Arsenal really don’t look like a team capable of delivering it.
Wednesday’s game against Pep Guardiola’s side, a battle between the master and the apprentice, gave an insight as to where Arsenal are and where they need – and hope – to be.
Put simply, there is a gulf in quality between the two sides, and given the Gunners probably won’t have much money to play around with in the summer, it’ll be a slow, rocky road.
But there is optimism – Arteta is clearly a top-class coach and there are some great youngsters coming through – so the key thing here is time, slow and steady winning the race.