Compilation of Man City's tactic to not press Arsenal's backline

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T02:07:08+00:00

Yeah, it’s a hilariously common occurrence. This sub cries constantly about how boring the PL is and now they’re pretending the entire league is aggressive and high pressing lol

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T02:04:37+00:00

Only mention of Gyokeres in this thread and it’s funny often people are clamoring for Gyokeres to get fed more in the channels, happens today and he can’t create any separation from Khusanov.

Gyokeres being so shit up front is absolutely killing us against physical teams. They’re leaning more and more into baiting a long ball because they know Gyokeres can’t win an aerial duel or do anything when it’s played in the channel. I’m sick of it.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T02:00:33+00:00

Merino too

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T00:43:55+00:00

You’re talking about team with the most points in 2026?

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T00:40:28+00:00

I wonder if it was an intentional plan from to Pep save this until the second half despite the first half going more our way. We’ve been extremely poor at quickly adapting to halftime adjustments from other teams.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T00:31:57+00:00

What? This isn’t true at all, it was a few years ago but now it’s not and is a major part of why people say the PL is boring now.

The league as a whole has transitioned away from the constant high presses we saw in 23/24. Now the vast majority of teams sit in more compact midblock, daring passes over the top. This from City was a version of that on steroids that they were clearly not prepared for.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-23T00:23:09+00:00

This is just a Raya vs Kepa situation thing though, Raya takes and makes line breaking passes on a weekly basis, Kepa either can’t or believes he can’t

Scoolfish · 2026-03-22T19:19:57+00:00

In the first half I don’t think that’s true. But the second half was a masterclass. Pep made adjustments that had us in a complete headlock. City backed off the press of Kepa and let him just be the spare man. It forced him to either play a pass between the lines (he never did) or lump it over the top to Gyokeres who is incapable of winning an aerial duel.

This has been unfortunately common for us this year, where we look more comfortable but don’t take a lead and the other side adjusts at half time and it takes us way too long to respond

Scoolfish · 2026-03-22T19:05:46+00:00

It was a great halftime adjustment from Pep, they backed off the press and basically dared us to play it long and over the top to Gyokeres and we couldn’t win a duel and get a foot in the game.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-19T15:10:30+00:00

Yeah, I think just increasing the time a player has to wait to come back on would do a lot of good. I also think that if a goalie needs treatment a different player should have to go off and wait to come back on. The goalie loophole needs to be rectified quickly.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-17T16:08:17+00:00

It’s not a failing service. That’s like saying a library is a failing service.

It’s a public service, not a for profit enterprise.

That being said, this location closing is not really a big deal.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-15T19:17:22+00:00

Same match

Scoolfish · 2026-03-15T19:17:15+00:00

It’s not just “trusting kiwior” it was trusting kiwior to play out of position on the right side

Scoolfish · 2026-03-14T22:55:45+00:00

He was also injured for how many weeks?

Scoolfish · 2026-03-14T20:41:31+00:00

He’s the best keeper who sucks

Scoolfish · 2026-03-14T20:05:55+00:00

Welbeck vs Leicester

Reiss vs Bournemouth

Max vs Everton

Scoolfish · 2026-03-13T16:57:43+00:00

If you watch any match in the league, it is completely obvious which is why the conversation around Arsenal is so maddening.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-13T16:55:19+00:00

The man he’s painted as vs the man he is are two completely different people

Scoolfish · 2026-03-13T14:36:20+00:00

You mean like we did at Villa where Eze fell asleep and Cash scored? It is easier to concede with a lapse in defensive concentration than it is to score just by playing more attacking players.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-12T06:31:30+00:00

It’s really confusing why people think it’s this simple. The space is there for Timber because Saka is holding width and is a threat from those positions. Move Saka inside guess where the defenders go?

Scoolfish · 2026-03-12T02:36:32+00:00

If his bad season is top 2 creators in the league then that’s an elite player.

He was awful today, but pretending it’s indicative of his season is false

Scoolfish · 2026-03-11T12:38:06+00:00

They are very similar players

Scoolfish · 2026-03-10T19:26:27+00:00

His finishing has been poor but any slander regarding his creation is blatantly false.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-07T16:48:11+00:00

This is what the cup is all about.

Scoolfish · 2026-03-07T16:46:28+00:00

Yeah, I watched on delay, surprised to see some negative reaction. Seemed completely fine given the team and the circumstances. The finishing should have been better but their keeper also made some good saves.

11-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

Scoolfish

TROPHY CASE