Declan Rice and his Arsenal side managed to earn a point as Arsenal drew 1-1 to Manchester City.
Jeremy Doku won 13 duels against Arsenal, which sums the fact that City decided to prioritise sitting back and hitting Mikel Arteta’s side on the counter.
Pep Guardiola set his defence up in a 5-4-1 shape and his pragmatic tactics worked to a tee for most of the game, with Erling Haaland opening the scoring as the visitors scored on the break.
While Toni Kroos believes Manchester City have declined as they sacrificed much of the ball against Manchester United as well, the fact of the matter is that Guardiola seems to be open to adapting at all times.
Declan Rice admits he was surprised Man City played a back five vs Arsenal
Considering Manchester City had a tough week in store against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, they will be satisfied to have won two games and drawn one out of the three fixtures.
Ultimately, football is a results business and Pep Guardiola knows that more than most.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Declan Rice admitted that he was surprised to see Manchester City set up in a back five against Arsenal.
Rice said: “And seeing the end, they changed to a back five, went to five, which I’ve never seen them do, and they’re obviously trying to hang on, so obviously to get them with draw at the end was good for us.”
Pep Guardiola reveals the reason behind defensive tactics Man City’s defensive tactics against Arsenal
Ultimately, Gabriel Martinelli’s late goal meant City could not get over the line.
However, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side seemingly stunned Rice and Arsenal, with the manager revealing the reason why his defensive setup was because the hosts are a better team in his eyes.
Guardiola said via Manchester City’s official website: “We try not to be like this but when the opponent is better and we have Erling who can run with such power, we have to do this.”
“Remember how many counter attacks we scored with Leroy [Sane], Raheem [Sterling] and Kevin [De Bruyne]? I would prefer not to do it but I would expect in this level we have to do it.”
