EYEWITNESS: Richard Osley's view on Arsenal 0 Manchester City 0
FA PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal 0 Manchester City 0
EYEWITNESS report by RICHARD OSLEY
at THE EMIRATES STADIUM
TWO teams had a football match. Nobody scored. The End.
You could sum up what happened here at The Emirates Stadium tonight with that measly sentence: the lack of imagination and attacking spark in bothe teams make this is a very big contender for the worst match played here all season. And what's so strange is that it shouldn't have been so stilted.
While Arsenal are stranded in third, the tiniest improvement on last term, Manchester City are in the thick of an almighty battle with Spurs and Aston Villa for a place in the Champions League. Yet, they came here - it seemed from the off - happy to leave with a draw. It's as if they know that a home match with Tottenham a week on Wednesday will be where this vitally important matter for the future of the club, and Spurs's ambitions, is decided.
The lacklustre game was spiced up for about five minutes when Emmanuel Adebayor came on for Patrick Vieira. There was an odd turnaround where Vieira - the hero for so long in this neck of the woods - left to cheers of adulation, only for the mood to change in a split second for when Adebayor skipped on to the pitch. Who could have guessed the family enclosure was capable of such anger? Even Ashley Cole hasn't felt this resentment on return trips here. Once on, Adebayor ran around and chased the ball without much success, just like we all remembered, and his afternoon may only be remembered for the hefty challenge by Robin Van Persie which sent him into a spectacular tumble.
There was a moment of real concern. Shay Given, a goalkeeper who many think Arsene Wenger should have been interested in when he left Newcastle, left the field on a stretcher and puffing on gas and air. He appeared to have dislocated his shoulder saving Abou Diaby's hopeful long range shot. It's hard not to admire Given's ability, perhaps why he was given such warm applause by the home fans as he left the scene.
Those points aside, this is one that will be forgotten before dinner. There was a man in the crowd wearing a 'Chamakh' shirt. Premature. Hopeful. But the Bordeaux striker clearly coveted by Wenger is exactly what Arsenal needed in this game. Robin Van Persie was isolated on his own up front and the creative midfield of Rosicky, Nasri and Walcott has lost its way. They look like they are already thinking about what the summer and next season will hold. Arsenal can't afford it to be full of more of the same.
Like the second half against Spurs a couple of weeks ago, there was too much aimless passing backwards and forwards across the midfield. Kolo Toure, another ex-Gunner in a black shirt today, was hardly tested. Looking to change things around, Wenger may have looked to his bench and seen Traore, Vela, Eduardo and Bendtner and felt a little restricted. City had the likes of Santa Cruz, Wright-Phillips and Adebayor to call on. It was down to their lack of initiative and adventure that manpower like that was not used to make more of a fist of it. Pretty toothless, Silvestre and Arsenal goalkeeper Fabianski - like Toure - weren't even given a scare.
Roll on the World Cup, people will say after seeing this. Fast forward to next season.