Pep Guardiola tears into Arsenal’s behaviour and throws shade at Mikel Arteta
Pep Guardiola didn’t hide his irritation over Arsenal players hitting the deck with cramp as they failed to cling on to their lead at the Etihad.
Manchester City’s John Stones thumped in a late leveller during injury time to finally burst the Gunners’ bubble. Mikel Arteta’s side had to battle the second half a man down after Leandro Trossard was deemed to have delayed the restart.
The Gunners looked to cling onto their advantage, drawing the fury of the Catalan – who seemed to have a pop at Arteta. “I don’t know how many [Arsenal] players went down with cramp, but that can of course happen in a demanding game,” he fumed.
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Michael Oliver tacked on seven minutes of injury time, which got extended when Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber was taken off with what looked like cramp, setting the stage for Stones’ dramatic equaliser in the 98th minute, reports the Mirror.
“We crossed and crossed and had Ruben [Dias], Manuel [Akanji], Erling [Haaland] but when you cross they have Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, so it is so difficult,” Guardiola spilled. “There were ten players there. In the end we got what we deserved.”
(Image: Getty Images)
“Maybe I would have done the same because it is with ten men,” Pep admitted when quizzed about Arsenal’s alleged time-wasting antics. “You have to ask Mikel [Arteta] what the tactic was.
“They were good with the long balls into Kai Havertz who is so strong and they go for the second balls. In the end we were patient, had the chances and got the goal. That’s all.”
Meanwhile, Arteta was buzzing with his squad’s performance despite being a man down. Both teams are still unbeaten, but City snatched the top spot from Arsenal after the draw.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I am so proud of the team. We played the game in a difficult context. Playing against the best team in the world,” beamed the Arsenal boss on Match of the Day.
“After what happened we went 2-1 up – it was a different story and I prefer not to make any comment about that [Leandro Trossard’s red card].
“Obviously, it is already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men. It is unbelievable what we have done.”
