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Baptism by fire: Arsenal showed glimpses of Emery's vision in defeat

Shaun Botterill / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It's not exactly a surprise Arsenal lost to Manchester City. Rarely does a first competitive match under a new manager ever go according to plan. That the Gunners' opening 90 minutes of the Premier League season came against the defending champions only made the task tougher.

It was difficult to experiment against such an unforgiving opponent and arduous with stars performing well below their standard. Unai Emery asked his team to try different things, starting Mesut Ozil in a withdrawn position, Aaron Ramsey as a false nine, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the right wing. City didn't allow Arsenal much time or space inside their own penalty area, and John Stones and Aymeric Laporte made Aubameyang seem slower than he is.

But Arsenal were, at least, trying to do the right things. They pressed City like never before, racing forward whenever the visitors succumbed to a horizontal pass. They forced Pep Guardiola's side to retreat on a few occasions and into tougher decisions. It was an aggressive style of play that Arsene Wenger hardly ever encouraged.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

City just knew how to deal with it. They're one of the best teams in the world for a reason. Any time Arsenal pushed up, City took a few seconds to find routes out of trouble. Ederson released some great passes under pressure, and Stones and Laporte remained calm at the back.

The counterattack would've been more effective had Arsenal composed themselves on the run. Any opportunity on the break was spoiled by overzealous passes, misguided runs, or unnecessary dallying on the ball. It was the right idea - one of City's known weakness is on the counter - but poor in execution.

Petr Cech's attempts to play out from the back were valiant but unsuccessful. It's likely Bernd Leno will replace the Premier League veteran at some point in the near future, but the direction will remain the same. Emery is aware of the growing need for more technical goalkeepers in the Premier League, and Leno will help Arsenal join the movement. Cech simply wilted when City put him under pressure, sending dangerous balls across the goal just to get it out of his feet. It was more an indictment of his qualities than Emery's system.

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It was also encouraging to see Arsenal grow into the game. Apart from a couple of errors, teenager Matteo Guendouzi was active in the middle of the pitch, regaining possession and kick-starting moves whenever he could. His desire and ambition were clear to see and all the more admirable considering he had never played top-flight football before. Alexandre Lacazette found himself in good goal-scoring positions in the second half, and Lucas Torreira stabilized the midfield after his substitution.

"We spoke at half-time about taking more responsibility for the second half, to do a little more," Emery said on BBC's Match of the Day. "We wanted to build with the ball and break their lines. I think in the second half we played more like we want."

It's obvious the players have a rough concept of what Emery wants, and that's an important step to take. He puts a much greater emphasis on fitness and tactics than Wenger did in his final years. Arsenal may have to part ways with certain players like Granit Xhaka, who continues to lose the ball with reckless abandon, and Cech before truly realizing Emery's vision.

Even Guardiola needed a full year to implement his idea of football. It will take time.

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