EPL: ‘Arsenal had many players surrounding Haaland’ – Guardiola explains why Man City drew 0-0

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has explained why his team failed to beat Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League tie.

The Spaniard watched as both teams played 0-0 at Etihad Stadium.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola said Arsenal had many players surrounding Erling Haaland, adding that the Gunners defended really well against City.

According to him, his team couldn’t press much because Mikel Arteta’s side played mainly long balls during the encounter.

He said: “I prefer to win, but [will] take the point. It was a hard game. The team make me so proud,” Guardiola was quoted by Man City’s website as saying.

“The space was really difficult to find. We cannot press much because they played mainly long balls.

“Arsenal have scored many and conceded few. We didn’t create much, it was almost actions, but they defend really well. We tried.

“They defend well and had a lot of players surrounding Erling.”