Man City's draw with Inter in their Champions League debut highlights defensive problems ahead of Arsenal match

Manchester City's failure to score against Inter at the Etihad Stadium is immediately apparent in their first goalless performance in 18 European matches, but Pep Guardiola knows that what worries him most is not what happened in the final third of the game, but what could have happened at the other end.

City showed periods of control and were dangerous, even when they were not at their best. Jack Grealish looked unusually lively, at times even reminiscent of the days when he won the hearts of the footballing world in the Aston Villa shirt. Erling Haaland had chances, Phil Foden had the best start of the night and by the end even a defence as impressive as Inter's was stretched to the breaking point. Had Ilkay Gunodgan placed his last-minute headers elsewhere, City's perfect start to the season would have continued.

It would have felt like fake gold, though. Surely the team that lined up at the Etihad will need to be re-assembled when Arsenal visit town on Sunday, and not just because of the injury sustained by Kevin De Bruyne late in the first half. The balance is completely out of whack. With the ball, City had to deploy so many players so far up the pitch that at times it looked like a back six directly behind Haaland. That inevitably created chances for Inter without the ball, so Guardiola's men were actually lucky to end the night with a clean sheet.

This might not have mattered at all if West Ham, Brentford and even Ipswich Town had not previously identified the same weaknesses that Inter exploited so successfully. Even with a fairly favourable schedule at the start of the league season, the weaknesses on the counterattack were obvious to those who watched City closely. Simone Inzaghi was certainly one of them. His odd decision to leave Lautaro Martinez out of the starting line-up was justified, as in Mehdi Taremi and Marcus Thuram he had strikers who could act as pass-offs and then play the pass to keep the counterattacks going.

City's right-hand side has been an area of ​​particular delight for Inter from the start, with Rico Lewis learning perhaps one of the most complicated roles in modern football. Players like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Trent Alexander-Arnold barely go a week without taking the blame when the zone they invert from is pierced by an opponent. Inter were planning to do the same.

How Taremi failed to provide at least one assist is something only Matteo Darmian knows. The former Manchester United player opted to backheel the ball into space as he headed towards Ederson's goal. Thuram's homage to his head coach's older brother Pippo – the man who was said to be born offside – made for a lavish display from the Italian champions. The late introduction of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and especially Martinez added even more spice to Inter's attack. The latter could have really tested Ederson in the 84th minute had the ball been better passed to him. Only better execution separated them from at least a goal at the Etihad.

Of course, there are pretty simple solutions, at least for now. Gündogan's introduction for De Bruyne at half-time brought a little more balance to this team, not only taking good shots but also adding a little more pressure in front of the back four when Inter had possession in the final third.

The other solution is even simpler. Bring Kyle Walker into the back line and get Rodri to support him in midfield from one of the centre-backs. It's a good job. Walker, 34, has been more effective at stopping opposition attacks than any other player in the world for over half a decade. Where Manuel Akanji was often second to balls to the right-back, Walker would surely have eaten them. In the long term, City need to find out who the defender with afterburners is that they need. Before then, using Walker to stifle Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka seems a smart move.