Arsenal have received an astonishing amount of criticism for their style of play against Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s side walked away from the Etihad with a point after a thrilling 90 minutes against Pep Guardiola’s champions.
It was a resilient display from Arsenal away from home as the visitors were forced to play the entire second half with only 10 men.
Defending a 2-1 lead a man short as a result of Leandro Trossard’s sending off saw Arteta opt for a defensive approach, something that has caused an uproar in the media.
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Granit Xhaka comments re-emerge as Arsenal receive criticism
Several Manchester City players approached the media after failing to record a win against Arsenal for the fourth game in a row.
Guardiola’s squad did not take the result well, with John Stones accusing Arsenal of playing dirty, as the matter of the dark arts has been thrown around in light of the draw.
Now it seems that everybody who is not Arsenal is jumping on the bandwagon regarding the Gunners’ style of play in the second half, which makes Granit Xhaka’s 2023 comments even more powerful.
Speaking to The Players Tribune, Xhaka told his story, referencing a comment made by pundit Micah Richards in one segment.
“I love the comment from Micah Richards, when he says ‘when Arsenal does something, everyone has to say something’, this is true, this is the reality,” Xhaka stressed.
“This is the reality, the other clubs are doing it as well, the other players are doing this as well. The other players are getting yellow cards and red cards and making mistakes, but none of them are a big story, like mine for example.”
The former Arsenal midfielder’s words could not ring any truer at this moment, with it astoundingly perplexing to study the reaction of the majority after the Man City draw.
Man City draw sent a message to the Premier League
As Xhaka explained, ‘other players’ and ‘other clubs’ do the same things as Arsenal however, it only seems to be the Gunners who are shunned upon.
Such carries weight right now, with there little explanation from those against Arteta’s side over how the squad should have played instead.
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Defending a one-goal lead for 45 minutes at the Etihad was never going to inspire Arteta to leave his side open in order to play an attacking game, with the result firmly where the visitors wanted it to be.
It would be interesting to see how other clubs would approach such scenario, given the scrutiny that Arsenal have come under as a result of their efforts to defend a winning position.
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