Arsenal battled to earn a point away at Manchester City in tough circumstances, as they were reduced to 10 men before half time.
Mikel Arteta’s side went 1-0 down and looked set for a difficult afternoon as Man City started superbly, but Arsenal fought back to head into a 2-1 lead after goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Leandro Trossard was then sent off after delaying the restart, in a frustrating moment for his team who had to defend for their lives for 45 minutes.
Arsenal then put on a defensive masterclass and were on the verge of victory before John Stones scored in the final seconds, but Arteta’s team still secured an impressive point in the title race.
However, the reaction since has been surprising, with former Manchester United players Roy Keane and Gary Neville slamming Arsenal’s apparent lack of attacking ambition despite leading with 10 men.
Arsenal’s attacking ambition against Manchester City slammed
In the days following the game, Keane has suggested that Arsenal played with a “small club mentality” against City, whilst Neville claimed that the Gunners needed to attack more even during the second half whilst they were 2-1 up.
“If Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce, Neil Warnock set a team up like that for the second-half, they’re dinosaurs,” Keane stated.
“Arsenal set up, and I mean nothing wrong with defending, I’m on about them when they did get the ball, a couple of times they were just booting it out of play. But Arsenal do it, it’s like, ‘Oh, brilliant.’”
Neville questioned Arteta’s tactics, claiming that Kai Havertz, who failed to complete a single pass, should have remained further forward.
“I did think on Sunday that the five at the back was the right thing to do. I did think that he would then go with three in front and then one [up front],” he stated.
“I thought Arsenal had to score in the second half to probably get the win.”
Speaking in a press conference, Arteta was asked whether he wanted to respond to the criticism, and he simply said “no.”
Gary Neville’s hypocrisy over Arsenal highlighted as 2021 comments about Chelsea draw vs Liverpool emerge
Neville’s criticism in particular is bizarre, given that when Chelsea were in the same situation as Arsenal, he heaped praise on them.
In 2021, Chelsea were winning 1-0 at Liverpool through a Havertz goal, but at half time the score was 1-1, before they set up in a deep block to hold out for a draw.
“It was an absolutely brilliant game,” Neville stated after the game.
“Before the game we thought this would be a much sterner test for Chelsea than they had at Arsenal, but they will leave Anfield confident.
“They played well in the first half and managed Liverpool, who were playing really well, but the resilience they showed in the second half is what we associate with championship-winning teams. They are a long way from that, but they have shown those qualities.”
Arsenal vs Man City compared to Chelsea vs Liverpool
Both Chelsea and Arsenal secured points with a man down by half time away at difficult teams in Liverpool and Man City.
Man City are better now as defending champions than Liverpool were at the time, and Chelsea were drawing with Liverpool when they decided to hold out for the point, whilst Arsenal were winning when they dropped into a deep block.
Chelsea had six shots against Liverpool, compared to Arsenal’s five at Man City, with their game ending 1-1 and Arsenal’s 2-2.
In very similar circumstances, both teams secured a point, with Arsenal’s an even more impressive performance and result, yet Neville praised Chelsea at the time and criticised Arsenal now, which really does back up the idea that Arteta’s side are unfairly criticised.
Are Arsenal unfairly criticised in the media?
Comments made a few years ago by former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka have been proven to be spot on based on Neville’s latest criticism.
“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 stated.
“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.”
In this case, Arsenal and Arteta pulled off what Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel were lauded for, but have been slammed instead, and it is little wonder that some players and fans may consider themselves harshly treated.
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