Arsenal’s time-wasting strategies during the second half of their 2-2 tie with Manchester City have been defended by Mikel Arteta.
At the end of the first half, Leandro Trossard was given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away, dropping Arsenal to 10 men.
In the second half, Arteta’s team showed tenacity and resilience by tenaciously guarding their area and holding on to a 2-1 lead and a potentially pivotal victory over the champs. However, nine more minutes were added by the referees at the end of the match, and John Stones, a replacement for City, scored with one of the final kicks to secure a thrilling draw.
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The Gunners were accused of using “dark arts” to delay and throw off City’s rhythm by stage-managing injuries in an effort to keep them at bay. City player Bernardo Silva stated following the match, “There was only one team that came to play football.” Sadly, the other player arrived to play as close to the boundaries as the referee would permit. Reported By Independent news.
Arteta, however, said that they acted as any squad would have in the same circumstance.
In His Words ?
“We had to participate in the required game. Arteta spoke about the brief moment in the first half when City faltered after Mateo Kovacic replaced the injured Rodri, saying, “They played 30 seconds with 10 men, and look what they did.”
“What they did was typical. Regretfully, we had experienced this identical circumstance [previously]. Granit [Xhaka, the midfield player who was sent off] was in the same circumstances as us, and we lost 5-0. We had best get educated. I would be quite thick otherwise.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup match between Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers, Arteta also made a suggestion that a few of his players may have sustained injuries as a result of City’s aggressive play during the match.
“Tomorrow, let’s see who is free, and then we can discuss dark arts.” Regretfully, a few players will be unavailable… If a player is acting something, it indicates that he will continue to play. Tomorrow you will find out [who is injured].”
When asked about his altercation with Erling Haaland following the game, Arteta continued, “It was a very emotional game, but they’re all different.” It’s a part of sports, part of football, and we move on after the game.
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