London24NEWS

‘Time-wasting Arsenal gamers need drama – however we’re prime of the Prem, not them’

Manuel Akanji has told title rivals Arsenal their footballing dark arts still won’t make them English champions.

Mikel Arteta’s side were slammed by Manchester City players Bernardo Silva and John Stones for their time-wasting tactics in Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 draw. And City defender Akanji joined in the criticism of Arsenal’s crude style, claiming Mikel Arteta and his players love the ‘drama’ of adopting such a controversial approach.

Asked if Arsenal were the masters of the dark arts, Akanji said: “I don’t think there are many better than them at it. But, in the end, we always won the title and I don’t think it’s going to be different this year.

READ MORE: Roy Keane puts Micah Richards in his place with blunt facts in Man City vs Arsenal debate

Click for more of the latest football news from the Daily Star.

Join the Daily Star’s WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more



A man laughing at his phone, a sassy womanm the whatsapp logo and an alien in a suit.

The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!

Through the app, we’ll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens…along with the latest breaking news of course.

To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in!

No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

“In every duel, every free-kick that was given, they went on the floor. Players go on the floor to get up, sprint back again, go on the floor again, one of their team even went over to tell the keeper to go on the floor and stuff like this.

“I mean, there’s nothing we can do about it. In the end, It’s up to the referee to control throughout the whole season, to control these situations. But yeah, there’s nothing else we can do about it.



Manuel Akanji and Jurrien Timber
Akanji and City came from 2-1 down to grab a point against Arsenal

“That’s what they’re looking for. Always when we play against them, that’s what they’re looking for – the drama, going hard in the duels, defence, 11 players in their own box and then go on set pieces and try to score a goal.

“With the time-wasting, we cannot control this. It’s up to the referee to do something. But in the end, it’s obviously hard to score against anyone who has 10 men, with the keeper in their own box.

“It worked for them, so if they’re happy with the one point [that’s fine]. We’re not, we tried to get more, but that’s what they’re happy with. At the end of the day we’re still top of the league. We haven’t lost a game yet.



Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal suffers with an injury as Gabriel of Arsenal talks to Referee, Michael Oliver during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Manchester, England.
Three Manchester City players have now hit out at Arsenal’s tactics

“We tried, especially in the second-half with one man up, but it’s hard with 10 players defending in their own box.

“So we tried our best, we had to keep pushing until the end and luckily, in the end, we scored a goal and got one point.”