Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta won’t have envisaged the clash with Man City playing out the way it did by the end of play on Sunday.
The Gunners conceded early through Erling Haaland, but a full debut for Riccardo Calafiori brought about his first goal for the side with a stunning strike.
That start was made better as Gabriel Magalhaes scored his second goal in two Premier League games, rising highest to nod in Bukayo Saka’s cross.
A difficult occasion for Arsenal was made tougher when Leandro Trossard was handed a second yellow card for delaying the restart.
Arsenal moved into a low block to keep Man City out and did well until the final minute of stoppage time when John Stones scored a late equaliser.
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Arsenal master the dark arts against Man City
With Arsenal deploying such a defensive system after moving to ten men, everything was required to take something away from the game.
There were some tactics deployed by the Gunners that wasted a bit of time and stopped some of Man City’s momentum.
Players dropped to the floor at different moments to offer some respite for the side as they took on some information from Arteta.
One moment saw the physio run on the pitch to help Jurrien Timber on the floor, much to the frustration of City.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher said of the display: “Jose Mourinho is watching this somewhere in Turkey with a wry grin!”
The former Liverpool man also suggested that Arteta was trying to “do a [Sir Alex] Ferguson” with his mastery of the dark arts.
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Arsenal are tough to beat in their Premier League title challenge
Over the years, Arsenal may have been accused of being easy to beat and that has often cost them in the past.
Arteta has since turned the team into one that is extremely difficult to break down, whether that’s with 11 or ten men on the pitch.
It gives them an edge in all phases of play, making it easier to defend different moments in the game and cause problems for the opposition.
Given the titles that Mourinho and Ferguson won over the years, being compared to two greats is no bad thing for the Arsenal boss.
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