Pep Guardiola admitted he was made to “suffer” as Manchester City were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd-minute equaliser cancelling out Erling Haaland’s early strike.
City, who had just 32.8 per cent of possession the lowest figure ever recorded by a Guardiola team were under sustained pressure for much of the game, with Guardiola conceding that Arsenal “controlled the game.”
“In general, who controlled the game was Arsenal,” Guardiola said. “It was not us. And that’s why when this happened, 1-1? I take it.”
Haaland had put City ahead on the counter-attack after just nine minutes, but Arsenal’s persistence was rewarded late when substitute Martinelli struck, ensuring the points were shared.
When asked about City’s record-low possession, Guardiola joked: “I cannot live in this country with another record, you know that, so I’m so proud of that. Okay, one time in 10 years is not bad, right? Now I’m a transition team, you know that.”
Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Guardiola praised his side for their resilience in a demanding week that included clashes with Manchester United, Napoli, and Arsenal. He also highlighted the adjustment period for new signings, including first-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. “He is still adjusting to our style of play and the fluency of his passing will improve,” he said.
The City boss stressed that he was particularly impressed with his players’ body language and spirit. “I have said many times about the body language, how we celebrate, how we are communicating, how we are making an effort for each other. We lost it a lot last season. And I said this season I don’t give a ‘bleep’ about the results. I wanna see the spirit back in the training sessions.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, defended his team selection despite starting with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eberechi Eze on the bench. “It’s easy to say that [we lacked ambition], but we started the game very well and completely dominated. City scored a goal and then did nothing,” Arteta said. “We controlled the game and dominated and the second-half was the same. I’m extremely proud of my players and team, but very disappointed with the result.”
Arsenal enjoyed 67.2 per cent of possession, the most ever recorded against a Guardiola side but failed to turn their control into three points. Arteta insisted that his side’s performance showed they could still push Liverpool in the title race, even though they now sit five points behind the league leaders.
“It’s going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine,” Arteta said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
