Much of the aftermath of Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium focused on the cautious tactics of the hosts, somehow ignoring that it was the visitors who resorted to park-the-bus mechanisms in order to try and grind out a win. In the end, neither side truly deserved the victory and a point apiece seemed fair, but the performance from Pep Guardiola's men was strange in several ways.
Having lost 5-1 in this very same fixture back in February against a weaker Arsenal team than this, you can forgive City for returning to north London with the handbrake on. If they suffered another obliteration in that manner, they could already begin to kiss their Premier League title dreams goodbye.
In order to prevent this, Guardiola set out his stall in a far more conservative manner than ever before. Given Mikel Arteta had also picked a starting lineup showing a bit too much respect, City were actually good value for their 1-0 lead at half-time, hitting the Gunners with a killer counter which was expertly finished off by Erling Haaland. That excursion nine minutes in appeared to signal the end of their ambition, however, mustering up only one other chance of note from there on in. Nobody in blue could have any complaints about their barricades finally being breached by one straight ball over the top and a delectable dink from Gabriel Martinelli.
It begs the question over where City are going. Are they actually serious contenders or are they still way behind in their rebuild? Can Guardiola reinvent himself to keep up with this new wave of managers?
AFPBreaking records in Arsenal draw
Not only did City's performance fail the smell test with a wild whiff, but the numbers and stats back it up. The 32.% possession that his side recorded on Sunday was the lowest-ever for a Guardiola team. The extra wrinkle is this was done with the full 11 men on the pitch.
In his post-match press conference, Guardiola claimed it was not exactly by design for City to stand off Arsenal so much, rather Arteta's outfit had outwitted them and forced such a change. "I can't live in this country with another record!" Guardiola laughed. "I'm so proud of it. You have to give Arsenal a lot of credit. One time in ten years is not bad, eh? I have to prove myself again with a different strategy. So, now I have a transition team. I said I don't give a f*ck about the results, I want to see the spirit back in the training sessions and us enjoying. After that is tactics. We lost it last season and we had to recover. This week we have recovered. We have to continue. And from there we will, learn the process, the tactics, our way we feel more comfortable to win games and be proud of ourselves."
When asked whether there was a sense of enjoyment at his team effectively sh*thousing their way to a result, Guardiola shook and replied: "I suffered! I want the ball to be closer to [David] Raya, not Gigi [Donnarumma]."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportDonnarumma hint
While on the subject of Donnarumma, it's important to remember exactly why he was signed. Sure, he's an excellent shot-stopper and an imposing presence, but he's the polar opposite profile to his predecessor, Ederson. The manic Brazilian was arguably the world's best goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, someone capable of playing short and long. It even got a point where people asked if he was talented enough to play in midfield rather than between the sticks.
The pivot to Donnarumma isn't accidental. Well, at least in theory. The Italian treats the ball like a hot potato when asked to pass it, which is part of the reason why Paris Saint-Germain were happy to move him on despite last season's heroics en route to their first Champions League triumph.
"I wouldn't demand Gigi to do something he is uncomfortable with," Guardiola confirmed after his arrival. "We aren't asking Gigi to do what Ederson has done… it's not about undermining the other one. They are different."
In short, City are moving on from their days as a team who solely play from the back. They cannot count on the goalkeeper as an extra outfielder anymore. To properly utilise Donnarumma, they are almost asking opposition teams to pile more pressure on in their own box.
Guardiola's continued insistence on using the technically-limited Abdukodir Khusanov as a right-back speaks similar volumes, with the Uzbekistan international one of City's best players in the first half against Arsenal before being withdrawn at the break.
Getty Images SportSquad unsuited to new tactics
Nevertheless, City remain a work in progress, not only in their roster reconstruction but in adapting to a totally new way of playing. To their credit, they limited Arsenal to very few chances at the weekend, particularly as the clock wound down and they sought to waste as much time as possible, yet they were still undone. The instinct of their star players to push higher and squeeze the game afforded Martinelli the space to run into, and he made them pay with the equaliser. This way of playing has historically been the way to combat Guardiola's City. He and his players have continually bemoaned such tactics, so it's interesting that the roles have been reversed.
Perhaps more than any other player in the squad, 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has not been afraid to share his views on what he deems negative football. After City were eliminated by Real Madrid on penalties at the quarter-final stage of the 2023-24 Champions League, he said: "To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended (well). They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are. But in my opinion we should go through with that amount of chances but this is the trick of this competition."
Similarly scything quotes went viral across Europe a year earlier when his Spain side were beaten by Scotland in a European Championship qualifier, with the midfielder then commenting: "It's the way they play – for me it's a bit rubbish. It's always wasting time, they provoke you, they always fall. For me, this is not football. The referee has to take a part in this but he said nothing. It's a bit frustrating because we want to win and it's difficult because they waste time, waste time. It is what it is."
Taking off Erling Haaland and playing up to six defenders at any given point was such an outwardly negative move that it took even the Norwegian scoring sensation by surprise. We don't know what the opinions of the entire City squad are on their game-plan for the Arsenal draw, but maybe those thoughts don't even matter if they simply aren't up to scratch with them anyway.
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Ironically, Rodri's absence through an ACL injury was largely seen as the main reason behind City's decline last season. Without their midfield anchor, quite literally one crowned as the best player in the world, they split open like a sieve out of possession and lost all sense of equilibrium. In that sense, it's a fair assessment, but one man can't be the reason for a team that had just won four titles in a row falling apart in such dramatic fashion.
We now have a decent enough sample size to say City are nowhere near the level of those previous winners. They had already lost Kevin De Bruyne in spirit last year with the midfielder ageing and entering a different stage of his career, and they haven't come close to finding someone to replace that creative void.
City used to be relentless, maybe only bettered by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in that department, but they've lost that edge. Following the Arsenal draw, Guardiola and Bernardo Silva both bemoaned the schedule. It's true that this increased number of games will inevitably hamper a team's intensity, though that then begs the question of why the manager was so eager to trim his squad down from twenties into the teens. They had become used to winning for so long that they seemingly forgot how to reinvent and stay with the times, thus bringing about Guardiola's belated change to transitional tactics.
