Mikel Arteta stood by Arsenal’s defensive tactics in their explosive Premier League clash with Manchester City, saying he would have been “thick” not to learn from previous clashes.
Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away when Arsenal were 2-1 up at the end of the first half at the Etihad on Sunday.
After the break the Gunners sat back and soaked up pressure, ceding almost all the possession to the Premier League champions until John Stones netted a stoppage-time equaliser.
Arsenal, who had led for most of the contest after goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes, were accused of employing the “dark arts” by City defenders Kyle Walker and Stones.
City forward Bernardo Silva accused them of “time-wasting”.
But Arsenal boss Arteta stood by his team’s approach on Tuesday, referencing their 5-0 defeat to Manchester City in 2021, when former captain Granit Xhaka was sent off.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s third-round League Cup tie against third-tier Bolton, the Spaniard said his team “had to play the game that we had to play”.
“Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation,” he said. “We were in that same situation with Granit and when we lost 5-0. So we’d better learn. If not I would be very thick.”
Erling Haaland threw the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel’s head after City’s equaliser as tempers frayed but Arteta played down the tensions.
“We have already moved on and we are now ready to battle again tomorrow,” he said.
He added: “The team, the desire that they have to compete in any context, to win, to adapt to different circumstances, different competitions, different ways of playing and handle that emotionally and physically, the way we’ve done it is superb.”
Arteta joked that he would tell his players to leave the ball alone after Trossard’s second yellow card.
Declan Rice was also shown a second yellow for kicking the ball away in the draw against Brighton last month.
“Just leave the ball, don’t touch the ball,” he said. “We’ll play without the ball.”
Arteta gave an update on injured captain Martin Odegaard, saying he would return from an ankle problem in “a matter of weeks”.
The 25-year-old has missed the Gunners’ past three games after sustaining the injury on international duty with Norway earlier this month.
“I think it will be a matter of weeks, but how long exactly I cannot tell,” he said.
