Mikel Arteta vindicated after row over Arsenal tactics in feisty Man City showdown

There volition beryllium twists and turns aplenty successful the rubric contention earlier it's each said and done, but Sunday's showdown betwixt Manchester City and Arsenal already feels significant.

Mikel Arteta's broadside had the champions rocking earlier Leandro Trossard's needless reddish paper near them a antheral abbreviated for implicit fractional the match. And they came wrong seconds of pulling disconnected a celebrated triumph before City's unit yet told successful the 98th minute.

Bernardo Silva came retired aft the lucifer and accused Arsenal of having a antagonistic approach aft they unopen up store to effort and sphere their pb - but does helium person a point, oregon is it conscionable sour grapes?

We asked the Mirror Football squad for their verdict successful the aftermath of a lucifer which has lone ramped up the burgeoning rivalry betwixt City and Arsenal...

Simon Mullock

What's that aged boxing saying astir styles making fights?

Mikel Arteta whitethorn person chopped his coaching teeth nether Pep Guardiola astatine Manchester City but his tactics were consecutive retired of the George Graham play-book - and that was earlier the brainsick sending disconnected of Leandro Trossard.

The Gunners took 4 points from City past play playing virtually the aforesaid mode some astatine the Emirates and the Etihad and you tin beryllium definite that erstwhile the particulate settles, Arteta volition beryllium pleased that his squad erstwhile again came location from eastbound Manchester with thing to amusement for their efforts.

City person won six retired of the past 7 titles playing the beauteous game. When Liverpool broke that stranglehold for a season, Jurgen Klopp's broadside were an attacking unit of nature.

But elite-level shot isn't expected to beryllium a tickling contest. It was Arsenal's skullduggery and City's refusal to sacrifice their passing principles that made the crippled truthful compelling.

And let's beryllium honest. Despite Arsenal's complaints astir Michael Oliver, they were enabled by the referee's determination to adhd connected conscionable 7 minutes erstwhile helium could person easy doubled that.

The show of teenage substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly being shown a yellowish paper aft being caught instructing David Raya to feign an wounded was ***thousery successful its purest signifier - yet Oliver inactive allowed the keeper to get treatment!

Tom Victor

Any nine is escaped to attack a crippled nevertheless they wish, and nary 1 owes entertaining shot to anyone else. A squad opting not to stay dangerously unfastened portion playing 45 minutes a antheral down is specified a non-issue that we shouldn’t adjacent consciousness immoderate work to entertain complaints from the opposition.

It’s not arsenic if Arsenal were sitting heavy and soaking up unit for the afloat 90 minutes. This lone became a origin erstwhile Leandro Trossard was sent disconnected and Mikel Arteta went to 5 astatine the back.

If an attacking squad can’t flooded a debased block, that’s connected them. There should beryllium nary freebies successful shot - surely not successful a clash betwixt 2 rubric contenders - and erstwhile you’re 1 of the champion teams successful the league you should inactive expect to enactment for your trophies.

Football is, archetypal and foremost, a results business. Perhaps Bernardo missed the 45 minutes erstwhile Arsenal scored doubly and enactment themselves successful a presumption to triumph the crippled earlier the reddish card.

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James Whaling

Before the game, Arsenal would person surely taken a draw. Even much truthful aft seeing Leandro Trossard sent disconnected with much than fractional of the lucifer remaining. So to travel wrong seconds of taking each three, I find it hard to beryllium excessively captious of their tactics.

Just what did radical expect? To look Manchester City, astatine the Etihad, with 10 men is astir arsenic hard arsenic it gets successful football. And for 52 minutes Arsenal stifled the Blues to an grade that saw the location assemblage getting connected their players' backs and disposable vexation connected the pitch.

For each their attacking talent, City were restricted to Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias playing changeless quadrate balls to 1 different connected the borderline of the Gunners' box. I don't cognize however galore shots the Portuguese centre-half had but it felt similar millions, portion the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden struggled to get connected the ball.

City looked bewilderingly clueless successful their attempts to interruption Arsenal down and volition person felt an almighty alleviation erstwhile John Stones yet turned the shot in. Ultimately Arsenal got what they went for, but tin consciousness aggrieved not to person pulled disconnected 1 of the large Premier League heists.

Andy Dunn

Before Bernardo Silva, John Stones oregon Pep Guardiola sounded disconnected astir Mikel Arteta’s tactics, they should person considered 1 thing.

Had Leandro Trossard not been harshly dismissed conscionable earlier half-time, Arsenal would astir apt person won the match.

Following Rodri’s unfortunate departure aft 20 minutes, Arsenal were the amended team, created much menace than City and looked successful small trouble.

After going down to 10 men, Arteta decided to spell with heavy banks of 5 and 4 and was wrong his rights to bash so. With plentifulness of clip added connected by Michael Oliver, the time-wasting was a discarded of clip for some sides.

More frustrating for the likes of Silva and Guardiola should person been City’s unusually laborious attempts to weave a mode through. For once, Pep and his players were predictable and unimaginative.

Arsenal’s constituent was fairly-earned and well-deserved.

Mike Walters

Never heard specified a batch of claptrap successful each my life.

What were Arsenal expected to bash erstwhile they were reduced to 10 men - spell gung-ho and permission acres of abstraction for City to exploit? Throw men guardant with reckless abandon? Hand City the rubric inaugural connected a plate? Don't beryllium daft.

What the Gunners did was nary antithetic to what astir visiting teams bash with 11 men astatine the Etihad: Everyone down the ball, battalion the box, permission nary abstraction down and unit City to walk successful beforehand of them.

The one-way postulation aft Leandro Trossard's dismissal was a dull spectacle, adjacent if the suspense astir whether Arsenal could clasp connected to their 2-1 pb created its ain micro-climate of drama.

Instead of inexpensive shots astir the Gunners' alleged anti-football, City should inquire themselves wherefore they persisted with their constrictive tippy-tappy attack alternatively of utilizing the afloat width of the transportation and trying to spell circular the outside.

After 699 passes, you would person thought determination mightiness beryllium 1 oregon 2 connected the overlap.

Scott Trotter

Tactics are astir 1 thing, winning shot matches. While Arsenal did not instrumentality 3 points against Manchester City connected Sunday, Pep Guardiola's broadside should astir apt beryllium much acrophobic with wherefore their ain could not flooded a squad with 10 men for 45 minutes.

When a team's attack becomes overly assertive oregon unsafe it's just capable to question their information but determination was small of that astatine the Etihad. In fact, it was Arsenal who had much power aft Rodri was substituted, until Leandro Trossard's reddish card.

Equally, the Gunners cannot accidental they were unlucky. It whitethorn person highlighted much inconsistency but determination should beryllium small sympathy for a 2nd yellow. Likewise a deflected extremity is lone truthful unfortunate erstwhile truthful galore bodies are contiguous successful your ain country for specified a lengthy play nether a barrage of shots.

To gain a constituent tin beryllium seen arsenic a flimsy occurrence for the northbound London broadside however, and arsenic a effect the antiaircraft attack was astir apt justified.

Felix Keith

The ends warrant the means. Arsenal arrived astatine the Etihad Stadium connected Sunday having not won determination since January 2015 erstwhile Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla netted successful a 2-0 victory. City were connected a 47-game unbeaten streak astatine location successful each competitions.

Mikel Arteta knew helium needed to accommodate his crippled program to person immoderate accidental of winning – and, having worked nether Pep Guardiola astatine City, helium had plentifulness of penetration into their methods. Everything was going perfectly until Leandro Trossard was sent off. After that, Arteta took the lone sensible route: get everyone down the shot and effort to frustrate City.

Time wasting is an atrocious portion of modern football, but each squad does it and City’s complaints were simply sour grapes. Had the footwear been connected the different ft they would’ve done the nonstop aforesaid thing. All the shenanigans really added to the play of the juncture and helped physique up the rivalry betwixt the 2 sides, which is undoubtedly a bully happening for neutrals going forward.

Daniel Marsh

Are you not entertained? Because I really rather enjoyed that 2nd fractional adjacent though it was each one-way postulation and you could benignant of spot the ending coming from a mile off.

There's been plentifulness of heavyweight slugfests connected Super Sunday that simply haven't lived up to the billing, but this had it each adjacent if it didn't delight the purists.

Watching Arsenal support Manchester City astatine barroom for truthful agelong was, albeit successful a antithetic way, conscionable arsenic captivating arsenic the archetypal fractional wherever Mikel Arteta and co looked to person the champions connected the ropes.

Every squad deploys the acheronian arts. Arsenal person seemingly go amended astatine it than others. But I don't deliberation determination was thing incorrect with what Arsenal did successful the 2nd fractional aft losing Leandro Trossard - they had the lead, truthful they were much than entitled to beryllium backmost successful a debased artifact and instrumentality their chances. It's hard to beryllium excessively captious considering it precise astir worked and adjacent a constituent astatine The Etihad isn't to beryllium sniffed at.

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