In the wake of Arsenal's loss to Man City, the FC crew place all the blame at the feet of Arsene Wenger and wonder what it will take to change the culture at the Arsenal.
As Manchester City prepare to meet Arsenal for the second time in five days, the contrast in the two clubs' fortunes could not be starker.
After City's strolling 3-0 victory at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, the two clubs seem set on irrevocably divergent paths. The respective managers, too, seem to inhabit different football planets these days. Arsene Wenger, innovator of old, nutritionist, breath of fresh air and serial winner has morphed into a sombre shadow of himself, with an overpriced, underperforming side that does him precious little justice.
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, is riding the crest of a wave. Rinsed of a thoroughly frustrating first 12 months in English football, his ideas and enthusiasm have turned this City side into one of the most exhilarating spectacles in world football. Short passing, possession, vigorous pressing, flying ever-mobile full backs and a goalkeeper who could feasibly play in midfield... City have it all. And the energy and enthusiasm just seems to keep on coming.
For Wenger, times have changed. Poor recruitment has led to a stagnant and paltry playing pool, reduced -- literally at the weekend -- to a walking pace. Jack Wilshire seems to be letting his mouth do the talking rather than his football, while the defence looks all at sea. The simplicity with which Sergio Aguero shrugged off £35 million Shkodran Mustafi to score the opener at the weekend was alarming. And Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being muscled out of possession by the flying, patched up Vincent Kompany was one of the indelible images of the game.
Arsenal's players were forlorn figures at Wembley on Sunday.
While Gary Neville's assertion that Arsenal were "spineless and a disgrace" may have been motivated by his horror at how easy City's win had been, the truth is that the Gunners have a forlorn air about them. Gone is the swagger of the Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp era, when City in particular would take a twice-a-season thrashing at their hands. That majestic side is now very much consigned to the past. These days Arsenal do not even play the best football, a token credit that they had hung onto as the trophies dried up.
City, Liverpool and, perhaps most painfully, Tottenham have all overtaken Arsenal in aesthetics as well as results.
Still, City head south to a stadium that has offered up precious few positive moments with serious business to attend to. They must make sure they stay on course for the Premier League title, with Guardiola eager to ensure the earliest possible conclusion to the race so they can concentrate on European competition.
The Champions League represents one of the last great hurdles for this ambitious club. European winners in 1970 (in the Cup Winners' Cup against Gornik Zabrze), City have struggled to make a proper impact since then, the semifinal against Real Madrid under Manuel Pellegrini in 2015-16 an isolated high water mark.
Typically for City, a Fernando own goal proved to be the only goal of the tie, a sharp reminder of the bad luck that used to run through the club's history. That slender win took Real to their 14th European Cup/Champions League final. City's supporters can only dream of such a long-standing relationship with glory, following a club that has been as low as the third tier of English football within the last 20 years.
Man City will be hoping the Carabao Cup is only the first piece of silverware this season.
In losing meekly that night in Madrid, Pellegrini also betrayed City's rich heritage of playing football with style and panache, of giving it a proper go, of marrying the sleeves-rolled-up image of this great northern bulwark of a city with the flowing football that has been a by-word of great Mancunian teams of the past.
Guardiola will not be held to ransom on this front.
His side, delivering possibly the most enlightened version of the game many have witnessed, will carry on playing the only way it knows. The commitment to pace and precision, possession and persistence will keep his City side ticking over nicely. For Arsenal the job is to pick themselves up and show the public that there is still some life in the old beast. Wenger's team-talk writes itself, but whether he can get his message across is another matter.
Guardiola's men will need little in the way of Pep talks at the Emirates as they continue their march to the title.
Simon is one of ESPN FC's Manchester City bloggers. Follow him on Twitter @bifana_bifana.
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Source: espn.co.uk