Pep Guardiola has now exposed the same weakness in Arteta’s ‘Perfect System’ in two different finals. Once in the Carabao Cup and again yesterday. Here’s how: - City’s 4-2-3-1 evolved into a fluid 3-2-5 in build up with Rodri and Bernardo Silva constantly adjusting heights to bait Arsenal’s man oriented press. - Arteta’s 4-4-2 trigger press initially forced errors but the moment City split their CBs and dragged pressure wide, the central corridor became a permanent escape route. - From there, it turned into positional suffocation. Silva and Rodri controlled tempo between the lines while Cherki operated as the free connector in the half spaces, constantly exploiting Arsenal’s over commitment to the ball side. In that role as always, Cherki looked like the most decisive player on the pitch dictating progression every time City broke the first line. - Arsenal's presses had inevitable punishments. With each pass breaking the press, a simple rotation and movement from City was enough to isolate the ball carrier, while a single pass could destabilize the pressing structure completely. - The decisive edge came from City’s wide rotations. Doku’s inversion on the left and Cherki-Semenyo interchanges on the right stretched Arsenal’s block horizontally until gaps opened at the far side. - The winning pattern was simple but lethal: quick switch, underlap from O’Reilly and Haaland attacking a structurally broken box. Arsenal’s press wasn’t bypassed. It was used against them. - Off the ball, City’s 3-2-4-1 rest defence killed any sustained Arsenal momentum. Odegaard and Eze were consistently screened, transitions were immediately contained and Arsenal were forced into low value shots rather than structured entries. In a game defined by micro margins, City didn’t just win moments. They controlled which moments could exist. The conclusion is simple: Arsenal’s system doesn’t fail in ideas, it fails in execution under pressure.

Shoutout Mikel Brown Jr for the assist

LETS ALL LAUGH AT CELTICS 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

We profit. 🇮🇹 Sassuolo vs Lazio — Over 3.5 bookings @ 1.68 ✅ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fleetwood vs Arsenal — Arsenal -1.5 1H corners @ 1.59 ✅ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fleetwood vs Arsenal — Arsenal -4.5 corners @ 1.86 ❌ 2/3 on the first card. Drop a like to support me 💙

ARSENAL LOST TO A 4th TIER FLEETWOOD AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

LETS ALL LAUGH AT ARSENAL 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Arsenal 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Going to start sharing more of my football takes and the bets I like when I see something worth getting on. A few picks I like today 👇 🇮🇹 Sassuolo vs Lazio — Over 3.5 bookings @ 1.68 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fleetwood vs Arsenal — Arsenal -4.5 corners @ 1.86 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fleetwood vs Arsenal — Arsenal -1.5 first-half corners @ 1.59

ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI. SECOND ROUND. KNOCKOUT. THE GREATEST FEATHERWEIGHT OF ALL TIME. NEVER FUCKING DOUBT THIS MAN. REMEMBER THE NAME. REMEMBER THE LEGACY. THE KING IS STILL HERE. 🇦🇺👑🔥

I actually like Evloev and think his striking is much better than people give him credit for but I don't think he's bringing anything Volk hasn't seen before. I'm backing Volk to win this. If he gets caught with something big, then it is what it is that's MMA. I just think Volk gets the job done. #UFC333 #AndStill

Yan has completely turned this fight around. Merab looks exhausted. Those body shots are adding up and he’s struggling to keep the same pressure he had early on. If it’s 38-38 going into the fifth, Yan has all the momentum. Coming back from 2-0 here is insane.

Merab is giving Yan opportunities for the check lead hook especially as he comes forward behind that relentless pressure. The body kicks have landed well but Merab is starting to anticipate them and brace accordingly. Yan needs to make him pay for those forward entries. #UFC333

Vintage Merab is a different kind of nightmare. You don't get a second to breathe, think or reset.

Our press has been decent but we’re far too easy to play through and Guehi is having a field day against this midfield. Two yellows from transitions because we have absolutely no control in front of the defence. Get Bouaddi on, get Foden on and start controlling this game. This is absolutely there to be won if we sort ourselves out in the second half.

volk by any means necessary. tonight we remind them. 👊🏻 #AndStill

Joan García is single handedly saving Barcelona from an absolute humiliation here. PSG could genuinely have 4 or 5. He’s been let down badly by the defence in front of him.

Désiré Doué has now scored against Man City and Barcelona with that same ridiculous composure in front of goal. The way he creates the angle and picks his spot under pressure is genuinely special. We talk about his dribbling enough but his finishing deserves so much more attention. What a player.

Fabián Ruiz has balls of steel. The way he takes the ball under pressure like there’s absolutely nobody around him is ridiculous. What a footballer.

Quite a few changes but this is the game to make them. I’m curious to see how Bouaddi and Kovačić work together and whether we can get enough bodies between the lines to break Ipswich down. We should be pinning them back for most of this game so the focus has to be on our attacking structure. Let's get that W. 🩵

Love the intensity this half. Keep playing with this aggression, keep winning the ball back and we can find a result here. There's a game to be won. Come on City.