THE BIG DEBATE: Arsenal nearly defeated Manchester City in the opening moments of the match, but the champions have subsequently criticized the team for folding when down to 10 men.
Before everything is said and done, there will be many swings and turns in the title race, but Sunday’s match between Manchester City and Arsenal already seems important.
The champs were in complete control of the game until Leandro Trossard’s unnecessary red card left them shorthanded for more than half of it. And before City’s pressure eventually paid off in the 98th minute, they were just seconds away from pulling off a historic triumph.
After the game, Bernardo Silva publicly criticized Arsenal for their “negative approach,” claiming that they had closed to attempt to hold onto their advantage. But is he right, or is he just being spiteful?
We sought the opinion of the Mirror Football staff following a game that has further intensified the already growing animosity between City and Arsenal.Simone Mullock
What is the proverb in boxing that says styles decide fights?
Even though Mikel Arteta began his coaching career at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, his strategies were right out of George Graham’s playbook—and that was before the absurd dismissal of Leandro Trossard.
When the dust settles, you can be sure that Arteta will be happy that his squad once again returned from east Manchester with something to show for their efforts. The Gunners defeated City last season, taking four points in virtually the same fashion at the Emirates and the Etihad.
In the previous seven championships including the beautiful game, City has won six of them. Jurgen Klopp’s team was an offensive force to be reckoned with when they managed to break that grip for a season.However, playing football at the highest level isn’t meant to be a game of tag. The game was so interesting because of Arsenal’s cunning and City’s steadfast commitment to passing.
Let’s also be sincere. Arsenal may have had concerns about Michael Oliver, but they were made possible by the referee’s decision to award just seven extra minutes, even though he had the option to award twice as many.
It was ***thousery in its purest form to watch as young substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was given a yellow card for telling David Raya to fake an injury, but Oliver still let the goalie receive treatment!
Tom Victor
Every club is allowed to approach a game in any way they like, and nobody owes anybody else exciting football. It’s so nonsensical that we shouldn’t even feel obligated to consider the opposition’s objections when a team chooses not to play with a man advantage for 45 minutes.
It’s not like Arsenal spent the entire ninety minutes hunkering down and taking it all in. This only came into play when Mikel Arteta moved to the back five and Leandro Trossard was sent off.
It’s the attacking team’s fault if they are unable to overcome a low block. In football, especially when two championship contenders are facing off, there shouldn’t be any freebies. Even as one of the top clubs in the league, you still have to earn your medals through hard effort.
Above all, football is a results-driven sport. It’s possible that Bernardo was not present for the first 45 minutes of the match, when Arsenal scored twice and took the lead before Bernardo was sent off.James Whale
Arsenal would have accepted a draw before the match. Especially after watching Leandro Trossard be sent off with over half the game left. I find it difficult to be too critical of their methods given that they came within seconds of grabbing all three.
What exactly did they anticipate? It is nearly impossible to play football with 10 men against Manchester City at the Etihad. Additionally, Arsenal dominated the Blues for 52 minutes, to the point that the home audience were irate with their players and there was apparent discontent on the field.
With all of their offensive prowess, City could only muster square balls to one another all the time between Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias on the edge of the Gunners’ box. The Portuguese center-half seemed to have an endless number of shoots, while players like Phil Foden and Erling Haaland had difficulty controlling the ball.
When John Stones eventually turned in the ball, City would have felt a great sense of relief since they had appeared utterly stupid in their attempts to break Arsenal down. Arsenal ultimately achieved their goal, although they may be disappointed not to have pulled off one of the greatest Premier League heists ever.
Andy Dunn
One thing need to have been taken into consideration by Bernardo Silva, John Stones, or Pep Guardiola prior to their criticism of Mikel Arteta’s strategies.
Gunners would have most likely prevailed if Leandro Trossard hadn’t been sent off severely just before the half.
After Rodri’s sad exit after 20 minutes, Arsenal appeared to be the stronger team, posing a greater danger than City, and having minimal problems.
Arteta was within his rights to go with deep banks of five and four once the count was down to 10 men. Michael Oliver wasted a lot of time adding to the already wasted time on both sides.
The exceptionally time-consuming efforts by City to find a way through should have been more annoying for players like Silva and Guardiola. Pep and his team were unoriginal and predictable for once.
Arsenal deservedly and rightly earned their point.Michael Walters
Never in my life have I heard so much claptrap.
When Arsenal was down to 10 players, what was expected of them? Should they have gone all out and given City plenty of room to operate? Cast guys forward in a careless manner? Give the winning initiative to City? Be not foolish.
The Gunners’ approach was the same as that of the majority of visiting teams at the Etihad Stadium when they have 11 men: put everyone behind the ball, pack the box, leave no room behind, and compel City to pass in front of them.
Even if there was a microclimate of drama produced by the uncertainty of whether Arsenal could maintain their 2-1 advantage, the one-way traffic following Leandro Trossard’s expulsion was an uninteresting spectacle.
Rather than resorting to clumsy criticism of the Gunners’ purported anti-football stance, City ought to question why they continued to adopt their tippy-tappy, narrow strategy rather than utilizing the entire width of the pitch and attempting to circumvent the area.
You would have assumed that there may be one or two on the overlap after 699 passes.
Trotter Scott
One goal of tactics is to win football games. Even though Arsenal lost to Manchester City on Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s squad should likely be more worried about how they failed to defeat a team who had ten men for forty-five minutes.
It’s reasonable to criticize a team’s motive when their play becomes too aggressive or risky, but that wasn’t the case much at the Etihad. Up to Leandro Trossard’s red card, Arsenal actually had the upper hand once Rodri was replaced.
On the other hand, the Gunners cannot claim misfortune. There shouldn’t be much pity for a second yellow, even though it could have brought attention to other inconsistencies. Similarly, a deflected goal is only somewhat regrettable when so many bodies are in your own area under intense gunfire for an extended amount of time.
However, the north London team can consider earning a point as a little victory, therefore the defensive strategy was most likely warranted.Keith Felix
The means are justified by the objectives. Arsenal have not triumphed at the Etihad Stadium since a 2-0 victory in January 2015, when Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla scored goals. City had a 47-game home winning run in all competitions.
Mikel Arteta, who worked under Pep Guardiola at City, was well-versed in Guardiola’s strategies and realized he had to modify his game plan if he was going to have any chance of winning. Right up until Leandro Trossard was sent off, everything was going smoothly. Following that, Arteta did the only logical thing to do: rally everyone around the ball and attempt to frustrate City.
Modern football is terrible when it comes to timewasting, but every club does it, so City’s objections were just resentment. They would have acted exactly the same way if the shoe had been on the other foot. In fact, all of the antics increased the drama of the event and strengthened the rivalry between the two teams, which will definitely benefit neutrals in the long run.
Daniel M. Marsh
Are you not amused? Because even though the second half was mostly one-way traffic and the ending was kind of obvious from a distance, I really truly loved it.
Though it didn’t satisfy the purists, this heavyweight slugfest had everything. There have been many Super Sunday heavyweight slugfests that just didn’t live up to the hype.
It was fascinating to watch Arsenal hold Manchester City at bay for such an extended period of time, even though it was different from the first half when Mikel Arteta and company appeared to have the champs in the bag.
Every group uses the black arts. Arsenal seems to have gotten better at it than other teams. However, I don’t think there was anything wrong with what Arsenal did when Leandro Trossard was substituted in the second half; they had the advantage and could have easily sat back in a low block and taken their opportunities. Being critical would be difficult given how close it came to succeeding and how valuable a point at The Etihad is.
