Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola seemingly felt as though Arsenal managed fewer shots on target than they actually did in Sunday’s 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium. The former Barcelona boss was short and snappy with his post-match responses but still went out of his way to mention the Gunners’ deep-lying defensive approach, masterminded by his former protege Mikel Arteta.
Both Premier League title contenders were prevented from playing their usual expansive games as the chess match between Guardiola and Arteta led to a cagey affair at the Etihad.
There were only three shots on target in the entire match, and Guardiola appeared slightly irked when asked by beIN Sports what went wrong given that his side only notched one of them. “And [Arsenal]? How many [shots on target did they have]?” the City boss hit back.
The interviewer coolly responded: “2 on target.” An apparently caught off-guard Guardiola continued: “On target? I don’t remember. It’s difficult when they have a low block and so many players there, it’s not easy.”
Guardiola and his former assistant manager, Arteta, have gone toe-to-toe in free-flowing matches in the past. But Sunday’s was a far more contained contest, and the City boss appeared to take a sly dig at his Gunners counterpart by pointing out the defensive nature of his approach.
“I give credit to the opponents,” continued the 53-year-old, who is chasing down a fourth consecutive Premier League title. “They defend so deep. They defended 10 players in the box so it was difficult for us to find the spaces.”
City star Bernardo Silva also noted the difference in Arsenal’s approach to the contest, with wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus frequently dropping so deep that the visitors effectively formed a back-six to protect their penalty area.
“Last April they went man to man for the whole game and when you do that is a bit of a fifty-fifty,” the Portuguese told Sky Sports. “Today it was a different [Arsenal] team, more experience. They have young players that are now one year more experienced. They felt what it was to play here last season and today they were much better.”
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