Manchester City and Arsenal experienced contrasting fortunes in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Gunners soared to third place in the big table with a convincing win, while City lost to Juventus to leave their hopes of reaching the knockout stage hanging by a thread.
City succumbed to their second defeat in the competition as they were undone by two second-half counterattacks, while Arsenal won a match they dominated thanks to a Bukayo Saka (£10.6m) double and a Kai Havertz (£7.9m) strike.
We pick out the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from both fixtures in these Scout Notes.
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
| OPPONENT | RESULT | GOALS | ASSISTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | v Monaco (h) | 3-0 win | Saka x2, Havertz | Jesus, Havertz, Saka |
| Manchester City | v Juventus (a) | 0-2 loss | – | – |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| STARTING XI CHANGES FROM GW15 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (MINS) | OTHER MINS FOR SELECTED PLAYERS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 4 | Raya (90), Partey (90), Saliba (90), Kiwior (90), Odegaard (79), Rice (64), Saka (90) | Timber (26), Jorginho (26), Merino (90), Jesus (73), Martinelli (64), Trossard (26), Havertz (17), Lewis-Skelly (26), Nwaneri (11) |
| Manchester City | 3 | Walker (90), Dias (90), Gvardiol (90), Lewis (90), Gundogan (90), Bernardo (90), De Bruyne (86), Haaland (90) | Ederson (90), Doku (78), Grealish (87), Savinho (12), Mattheus Nunes (3) |
CITY WIDE OF THE MARK
It was another bad day at the office for Man City, who were ably contained by a shrewd and parsimonious Juventus side.
Juve, who are unbeaten in Serie A this season, did what they do best and kept City at bay with a display of regimented defending. They packed the middle of the pitch and were happy to force City wide, trusting their excellent defenders to nullify Erling Haaland (£14.9m), who cut an isolated, lonely figure up front. Not the first time we’ve said that of late.
Haaland did get through once in the first half, from a delightful eye-of-the-needle pass by Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) but Michele Di Gregorio made a good save.
Other than that, Di Gregorio only had one other save to make, from a curling effort 20-yarder struck by Ilkay Gundogan (£6.5m). De Bruyne also fired wide from just outside the D when he might have put Doku through.
In fact, Pep Guardiola said afterwards, that it was the final pass up front rather than any defensive shortcomings that scuppered his team.
“Tonight, I don’t think it was defensive mistakes much. That was not the reason [we lost], other games yes but not today.
“We missed that last pass when we arrive in the six-yard box. That was the difference today, but I love my team.” – Pep Guardiola on City’s attack
Juve scored by dispossessing De Bruyne and then Doku deep in their own territory and then breaking into the acres of space vacated by City’s absent midfield. It is quite a sight to behold, seeing oceans of space opening up in the centre of the pitch when teams transition on City, but it is no longer an unfamiliar one. A template on how to beat City and their high line is developing, which explains why they have mustered only one win in 10 matches, but it seems Guardiola has no intention to play any differently.
“I love my team the way we play and the result is not going to convince me of the opposite.
“Congratulations on the way they defended, in the transitions they did it. But we were incredibly aggressive in our high pressing.
“We won the long balls and the back four was really good. Of course, it was a cross [from which they scored] and Vlahovic is strong in that position.
“But the way we played I’m really pleased.” – Pep Guardiola on City’s defence
FURTHER DE BRUYNE FITNESS BOOST
De Bruyne remains a magical passer and another 90 minutes in his legs suggests he is over his injury worries. Haaland is also still an elite performer so both will return points aplenty this season, provided they stay fit. But given City’s form and the prohibitive price-tag of their best assets it’s hard to justify why an FPL manager should take the gamble on either just now.
Elsewhere, Gundogan and Rico Lewis (£4.7m) showed glimpses of attacking intent, with three shots each, but their respective xG of 0.19 and 0.16 highlight the meekness of their goal threat. Lewis is of course banned this weekend.
Phil Foden (£9.1m) and Mateo Kovacic (£5.1m) were unused last night, but the fact that they did travel to Italy and train with the team is a boost in itself. It’s a long way back into the FPL reckoning for Foden, who has been suffering from bronchitis. With only one assist so far this campaign, his price also makes him a Christmas present worth swerving.
JESUS NO SAVIOUR
Mikel Arteta will be relieved his side finally ended their open-play goal drought with three unanswered goals against Monaco.
As ever Saka was the star turn producing the end product where others couldn’t in a first half littered with squandered chances by the hosts.
The chief culprit on this score was Gabriel Jesus (£6.8m) who passed up two glorious chances to end his woes in front of goal. The Brazilian has scored only twice in 2024 and was denied by two pieces of good goalkeeping from Radoslav Majecki. A rested Havertz won’t be too concerned.
“Nothing, just to put him in front of goal like he’s done today on a couple of occasions, and there are millimetres, centimetres to if the goal goes in or not. He was there, he looked really alive, he had created the first goal from a great move and that’s him, so we have him back he’s with us and I’m sure he will contribute to the team.” – Mikel Arteta on how to improve Gabriel Jesus’ goal threat
Jesus was not alone in his profligacy. Martin Odegaard (£8.3m) will also still be kicking himself after missing three chances, the most egregious of them when clean through on goal. With only the keeper to beat, he drove wide. He finished the evening with an xG of 0.54.
Eventually, the dam broke when a superb passing move started by Champions League debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly (£4.5m) penetrated Monaco’s lines with a superb through ball. Jesus then crossed for Saka to convert at the far post.
After further missed chances, Saka struck again, in the right place at the right time after Havertz, a second-half substitute, pounced on a risky backpass and teed up his team-mate. The German claimed a late third when he turned in Saka’s low shot from close range, although whether it touched him or the defender last is up for debate.
GABRIEL BOOST?
Arteta has in the past been accused of not rotating his squad enough, but he did here, partly due to injuries, and partly to rest personnel. Gabriel (£6.2m) remains out, which is becoming a source of increasing concern for his owners. Just how serious is it?
Well, if journalist Sami Mokbel is to be believed, not too serious – and a Gameweek 16 return is not out of the equation.
🚨 Arsenal are hoping Gabriel Magalhães will be fit to return against Everton on Saturday. The player has missed Arsenal’s last three games with a hamstring injury, but is close to returning, despite not being risked in the 3-0 win over Monaco last night. [@SamiMokbel81_DM] pic.twitter.com/E6dMhs8kTc
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) December 12, 2024
The Gunners have also been hamstrung by a cluster of injuries in the full-back position. Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m), Ben White (£6.1m), Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.8m) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.8m) are all sidelined, while Arteta limited Jurrien Timber‘s (£5.7m) minutes via a second-half introduction. The Dutchman had missed training earlier this week, so it remains to be seen if there’s anything else going on there.
Arteta decided against deploying the fit-again Kieran Tierney (£4.3m), who must be wondering what he has to do to get a look in these days, and selected Lewis-Skelly for his Champions League debut.
THE NEW STARBOY LEWIS-SKELLY EMERGES
The gamble paid off as Lewis-Skelly showed composure under pressure and an eye for a pass when putting Gabriel Jesus through to set up Saka’s opener. Lewis Skelly is unlikely to get too many minutes, given his youth, and the fact Arsenal are well-stocked at full-back – but it is worth keeping an eye on if the injuries problems continue because the young starlet did not look out of place.
“Really proud moment. He’s one of our own, 18 years old. He makes his starting debut in the Champions League and he’s just a joy to watch him you know. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to give a chance to somebody, to start to change his career. He certainly took the chance and it’s great that we can trust him, that he can play in this environment and on this level and I was really happy with his performance.” Mikel Arteta on Lewis-Skelly
“He’s good, he’s been in contention. In pre-season, he opened our eyes to say I’m ready, the same as Ethan [Nwaneri]. He feels comfortable in this environment, they can perform, they can compete which is important as well not just play and today he’s shown that he’s at that level.” – Mikel Arteta on whether Lewis-Skelly is in contention to play more regularly
BOOSTS FOR HAVERTZ AND ODEGAARD
Havertz also benefited from his rest. He has looked weary of late, largely because he has started almost every match this season, and is required in his role to do a lot of off-the-ball running. His harrying of the goalkeeper for Saka’s goal reflects what a hard-working player he is and his goal is good news for his owners as the fixture list eases up for the next few weeks.
Arteta also finally played a midfield of Odegaard, Mikel Merino (£6.0m) and Declan Rice (£6.2m) for the first time, with Thomas Partey (£5.0m) once again required to fill in at right-back. It is a powerful midfield that gives Odegaard the platform to play in a more advanced role and create chances and also enables Merino to crash into the box.
The Spaniard had two shots and provided a cross for Jesus that was hit a touch too hard for the Brazilian to reach. As the season evolves, this could become the first-choice midfield, and it could make Odegaard, with the handbrake off, a more appealing attacking option.
“Yeah, we should have obviously scored four or five in the first half. This wasn’t the case and this is the Champions League. The level of opposition is really high. The way they play, they create quite a chaos, because there are so many players inside and the moment that you are not very well organised or neat in possession, the first two, three passes, you’re gonna struggle against them, but we will work on that situation. We scored the second one, after the game was in our control. I think the subs helped us as well in the right moments, so overall very positive.” – Mikel Arteta on Arsenal’s chance creation
From an attacking standpoint, those FPL managers who own only one Arsenal defender plus Saka, might reflect on the increasing chances materialising in open play for Havertz and Odegaard, who are likely to thrive against the generous defences of Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Brentford.
