Arsenal: Mikel Arteta channels his inner Jose Mourinho to get under Pep Guardiola's skin

Ever since Mikel Arteta resigned arsenic Pep Guardiola’s adjunct to go Arsenal caput coach, his critics person liked to impeach him of mimicking the Manchester City boss.

There is practically nary elite manager who has not been influenced by Guardiola successful immoderate way, but Arteta has faced snide suggestions that helium is simply a copycat and not his ain man.

“I ne'er tried to transcript and paste,” said Arteta successful January 2023 successful effect to suggestions that helium was borrowing excessively intimately from Guardiola’s blueprint.

In the 2nd half, aft Leandro Trossard’s reddish card, Arteta's broadside hardly had a interaction extracurricular their ain punishment box, arsenic the visitors doggedly defended their pb with each 10 players down the ball.

In fact, Arteta’s attack was acold much reminiscent of Guardiola’s historical rival Jose Mourinho, whose shot is often characterised arsenic the antithesis of the Catalan’s.

Mourinho would person admired everything astir the mode Arsenal played successful the archetypal fractional aft falling down to Erling Haaland’s 100th City goal, Arteta’s broadside equalising with a magnificent Riccardo Calafiori onslaught aft immoderate astute opportunism and taking the pb done Gabriel Magalhaes’ latest header from a corner.

And Mourinho would person surely approved of Arteta’s effect to Trossard’s brushed dismissal successful first-half stoppage clip for kicking the shot away, introducing Ben White for Bukayo Saka and efficaciously turning the crippled into a grooming workout of City onslaught against Arsenal defence.

It was reminiscent of Mourinho’s large battles with Guardiola down the years, including Inter Milan’s infamous rearguard with 10 men against the Catalan’s iconic Barcelona broadside successful the Champions League semi-final 2nd limb successful 2010. Arteta adjacent sounded a small similar Mourinho afterwards successful his refusal to sermon Trossard’s dismissal.

“I similar not to comment,” helium said. “I’ve seen it and it’s that evident truthful I’ll permission it to you guys.”

There stay beardown done lines betwixt the approaches of Guardiola and Arteta, and the similarities betwixt the 2 Spanish coaches adjacent widen to the mode they formal connected the touchline (black shoes, grey trousers, achromatic sweater).

But Sunday’s clash underlined that Arteta is progressively consenting to instrumentality a antithetic attack to his mentor successful challenging for the title. Arsenal’s willingness to frustrate City and clasp the acheronian arts truly was remarkable.

Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz became the archetypal outfield Premier League players connected grounds to neglect to implicit a azygous walk to a team-mate - an unthinkable statistic which underlined the grade to which Arsenal won their constituent with their enactment disconnected the ball.

They defended brilliantly, mostly restricting City’s defenders to potshots from extracurricular the box, and they were astute successful frustrating the champions.

After 65 minutes, goalkeeper David Raya went down requesting treatment, prompting furious cries from City’s players and supporters, and a mysterious booking for Arsenal’s teenage substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly, seemingly for thing helium said.

Raya going down allowed his team-mates a drinks break, and a little reprieve from City’s relentless siege of his punishment box.

“There was lone 1 squad that came to play football,” said City’s Bernardo Silva. “The different came to play to the limits of what was imaginable to bash and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.”

Arteta has had to thatch his players these acheronian arts, revealing successful February that helium had shown his squad clips and worked connected circumstantial scenarios successful grooming aft their 1-0 decision by Porto successful the Champions League - aft which Declan Rice admitted they had to beryllium savvier.

“There are clubs that person that successful their DNA,” the manager said astatine the time. “It is not thing that you would straight nexus with Arsenal, that’s for sure, but it is thing that has to beryllium developed.”

This improvement of Arsenal into a cannier, steelier squad has been hugely awesome and they are wholly unrecognisable from the broadside that collapsed to a 3-0 decision astatine Tottenham successful May 2022 aft Rob Holding was sent disconnected precocious successful the archetypal half.

Arsenal’s willingness to frustrate City and clasp the acheronian arts truly was remarkable... it astir paid disconnected spectacularly

Ultimately, Arsenal succumbed to the latest of sucker-punches erstwhile substitute John Stones bundled location successful the 98th infinitesimal to contradict them a archetypal triumph astatine the Etihad since 2015 and an tremendous intelligence boost successful their latest effort to dethrone City arsenic champions. Arteta nevertheless was “proud” of his players, adjacent if helium said helium could not "be happy" with the result.

“What I tin archer you is 99 retired of 100 times if you play 56 minutes against this squad with 10 men, you’re going to suffer and you’re going to suffer by a batch of goals,” helium said. “I’m truthful arrogant of them. It’s unbelievable however we react.”

Such are the singular standards acceptable by City and the good margins astatine this level, Stones’ extremity could yet beryllium decisive successful the rubric race.

But Arteta’s willingness to transmission his interior Mourinho precise astir paid disconnected spectacularly, and further underlined the steeliness and adaptability of his Arsenal side, which whitethorn beryllium important if they are to yet decorativeness supra City.

After all, Guardiola is the maestro for a crushed and determination is surely nary beating him astatine his ain game. Arteta, though, is gathering an altogether antithetic benignant of team, based connected his ain ideals.