Man City has surpassed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table after the Gunners were defeated 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium by Pep Guardiola’s side.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal fell to defeat at home to Manchester City (Image: Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta lost the tactical battle with Pep Guardiola as Manchester City ended Arsenal’s unbeaten home league record on Wednesday night.
Despite a determined showing from the Gunners, goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland secured a 3-1 victory for the visitors. The result also sees Pep Guardiola’s side leapfrog their opponents at the top of the Premier League table, although Arsenal do still have a game in hand on the reigning champions.
With that in mind, here are the key things Arteta got wrong as his side were knocked off top spot by his former club.
Dropping Ben White
Mikel Arteta’s decision to bench Ben White backfired (Image: Getty Images)
Arteta surprised fans by naming Ben White on the bench for the visit of City, the first time he has not started a league match this season.
In his place, Takehiro Tomiyasu started at right-back, making just his fifth league start this term and his first since October. Despite justifying his decision before the match, Arteta’s gamble backfired after 24 minutes as Tomiyasu gifted the visitors the lead.
His under hit back pass was intercepted by Kevin De Bruyne, who lifted the ball over Aaron Ramsdale first time into an empty net.
Losing tactical battle
Manchester City won the tactical battle with Arsenal (Image: PA)
Arsenal enjoyed long spells of pressure during the match as they pushed to take the lead after drawing level through Bukayo Saka’s penalty.
However, the match turned on a substitution from Guardiola early in the second half as he reshuffled his side to take control of the contest. Manuel Akanji was introduced to allow Bernardo Silva to move back into midfield from his makeshift left-back role.
The tactical change immediately saw City look more dangerous in attack and come the 72nd minute they had re-taken the lead through Grealish. Meanwhile, Arteta did not make his first substitution until deep into the final 15 minutes.
Failing to cope without Thomas Partey
Jack Grealish re-established Manchester City’s lead (Image: Getty Images)
An injury to Thomas Partey meant that the Arsenal midfield was lacking his usual presence alongside Granit Xhaka.
In Partey’s absence, Jorginho came into the side to partner Xhaka, making his first start for the club since signing from Chelsea on Deadline Day. His lack of match sharpness was apparent from the start as he made a slow start to the match with a number of misplaced passes.
The Italian’s style of play differs greatly from that of Partey, with Arsenal missing the latter’s marauding runs and threat from long-range.
www.dailystar.co.uk
