Former Bolton Wanderers and England manager Sam Allardyce recently afforded credit to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta had a number of challenges to contend with when his Arsenal side took on Manchester City on Sunday.
The Gunners went into this clash without club captain Martin Odegaard due to injury, and were reduced to ten men before half-time when Leandro Trossard was dismissed for delaying a restart.
Adapting to being outnumbered, Arsenal were far more defensively-minded after the break. Arteta took off Bukayo Saka, bringing on right-back Ben White in his stead.
The North Londoners sat deep in a low black, soaking up pressure, restricting space, and making themselves all but impossible to break down. They also used every trick in the book to slow down the pace of play, waste time, and break up the game.
Manchester City star John Stones described Arsenal as “dirty,” whilst his teammate Bernardo Silva also took aim at Arteta’s tactics.
However, Arteta’s second half approach so nearly paid off. It was not until Stones’ 98th minute equaliser that their resistance was finally broken, and even then the Gunners were still able to come away from the Emirates Stadium with a point in tow despite having been down to ten men for more than half the match.
Sam Allardyce praises Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal tactics
Arsenal hardly invented the concept of time wasting on Sunday, nor did they exhibit the most egregious example of the ploy that many football fans will have seen before.
However, Sam Allardyce has now insisted that Arteta was well within his rights to instruct his players to run down the clock against Manchester City.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “When you’re playing with ten men, you’re entitled to do what you feel is necessary to get a result against the best team in Europe, if not the world.
“What a sterling job they did of it, I admired it… A master at defending, Mikel Arteta, and his coaches, master at defending.”
Some Arsenal fans may be surprised that Allardyce has sided with Arteta. After all, Allardyce has taken aim at Arteta in the past. However, his comments are hard to disagree with on this occasion.
What Arsenal proved against Manchester City
Whilst Roy Keane claimed that praise of Arsenal for their defensive efforts against Manchester City was overblown, it was nonetheless impressive that the Gunners were able to shut out Pep Guardiola’s men for as long as they did whilst outnumbered.
Arsenal proved their defensive credentials at the Etihad Stadium, and that they can go toe-to-toe with the reigning Premier League champions.
Arteta will take heart from his side’s display, especially ahead of the intense title race that looks likely to come between the two clubs this season.
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