[ad_1]
If the defense wins the title, Arsenal should have a chance.
Arsenal held Manchester City to a goalless draw on Sunday to maintain their one-point advantage over the champions. It is the first time since October 2021 that City have failed to score in a home league match, and their streak of consecutive games ended at 47.
Since manager Josep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League in the summer of 2016, City had the fewest touches (four) in the opponents’ penalty area in the first half at the Etihad Stadium. City striker Erling Haaland has now faced Arsenal three times. A scoreless season. Centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães were acting as bouncers on the edge of Arsenal’s 18-yard box and said: “Sorry, Erling. Your name is not on the list, you are not on the list.” ”
Two clean sheets against City in the Premier League this season have been a source of pride for manager Mikel Arteta. “It’s very difficult to achieve that,” he said in the post-match press conference. “You can see the commitment of all the players, the discipline they’ve shown and how they’re competing.”
Playing City away from home is a unique challenge. No other player in the Premier League has forced Arsenal to play so compactly and deep. Arteta suggested that blocking low was part of the plan, but also a necessity.
“When they (City) attack well, they put us in this low block and it’s really difficult to get out of there,” the Arsenal manager said. “They can drop wingers to the goalkeeper and attacking midfielders. They can bring the full-backs inside, they can bring the centre-backs inside. They can put seven or eight players inside. If you want to follow and go away one-on-one with Haaland, that’s your choice. If we win, great. Even if we don’t, we know what’s going on…The line with them is really thin. ”
It’s a line Arsenal tread carefully in east Manchester yesterday. It’s a testament to their concentration that they can continue to defend like that for so long. “Clarity,” Arteta summed up. “Are you ready to chase 30 passes?” And then, after getting the ball back, you lose the ball, and then he chases 30 passes? Yes? If so, I’m ready to play for Manchester City. That’s very important. If you’re not ready, you can’t play. ”
“It’s more exhausting in our heads,” Saliba agreed. “We know it’s the best team in the world, so we have to stay focused throughout the game.”
Guardiola was furious at Arsenal’s defensive zeal, and when asked what was the best way to break down a low block, he jokingly shrugged and suggested: “Kill someone?”
Saliba and Gabriel may have been at the top of Guardiola’s hit list, but this was a team effort for Arsenal. Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice led the press, looking to take advantage of the uncertainty in City’s build-up with injured trio Ederson and defenders John Stones and Kyle Walker in goal.
But once City bypassed them, the team collapsed into a low blocking formation with impressive efficiency.
Gabriel Jesus starts on the left wing, acting almost as a man-mark for Bernardo Silva, filling in the likely left wing-back space when the Portuguese midfielder drifts inside or deep. Sometimes it happened.
It meant that Jesus provided much-needed support to Jakub Kiwioglu in what was probably the biggest club match of the Polish international’s career. Guardiola has previously claimed that City’s Old Boy Jesus is one of the best defensive forwards in the world. After reasserting his typical attitude, he will continue to curse that fact.
“It’s difficult to play against them,” Bernardo admitted. “When they were pressing high, it was man-to-man, and when they were defending low, their wingers were playing almost as full-backs in a six-man line.
“It’s never easy to play against a team that defends so well. They defend very well, both when they’re pressing high and when they’re defending deep. We are coordinating.”
Bernardo saw a team that learned from last season’s 4-1 loss in this game. “[In that game]last April, it felt like they were playing man-to-man all over the pitch during the game. When it comes to man-to-man, it’s a bit 50/50,” he told the media. “When you have quick players like Kevin (De Bruyne) and Erling, it’s always difficult to play against…today was not the same at all.”
Sometimes you need some luck to get a clean sheet against City. Arsenal were probably lucky that Nathan Ake didn’t convert a header in the first half. When the ball broke after the interval, Haaland missed the kick.
Today could have been Arsenal’s day. After being on the back foot for the first 25 minutes, they started creating chances during the break. Arteta was clearly frustrated by his team’s failure to punish City’s rare defensive lapses. “You can’t be completely satisfied (with just one point),” he said. “We played the game in an exceptional way, but we could have done better in other parts of the game, especially with the ball in the final third.”
All in all, this was a much more mature Arsenal, tactically, physically and mentally, than the version we saw on this pitch 11 months ago. “I think we took a big step today,” Arteta said. “We had the experience of playing here last season, but we were able to play differently today.”
There is a widespread stereotype that Arsenal are a weak team, but that concept is now completely outdated. It remains to be seen whether they will win next month’s league, but their progress is clear. If Arsenal can defend so effectively against a team that Arteta calls “by far the best in the world”, they can do it against anyone.
even deeper
Manchester City 0 Arsenal 0: Defenders come out on top as title rivals cancel each other out
(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
[ad_2]
Source link
