John Stones admitted Manchester City struggled to cope with Arsenal’s “dirty” tactics in an action-packed 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
The Gunners were reduced to ten men just before half-time, after Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick.
Mikel Arteta’s side were at that point in the lead, after goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel turned the match around following Erling Haaland’s opener, and they mounted a huge defensive effort in the second period.
Arsenal were camped on the edge of their own box in a 5-4-0 formation and did everything possible to tick the seconds away, with David Raya, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber among those to go down and call for treatment.
Stones, who came off the bench to score a 98th-minute equaliser, was asked whether Arsenal had mastered football’s dark arts, and told Sky Sports: “I don’t know if they’ve mastered it, they’ve done it for a few years.
“We know to expect that. You can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it. They break up the game and obviously it upsets the rhythm for everyone. They use it to their advantage.
“I thought we dealt with it really well. It’s not easy when those things happen and you’re trying to gain momentum and get above them. Those little stoppages stop that and we controlled out emotions really well.”
He added: “They use a side of football that not many teams do. Make it difficult, slow it down. Get the keeper on the floor to get some information on and we had to control our emotions in that time.”
There were 28 shots from City in the second-half, the majority of those from outside the area as the hosts struggled to find a way through the mass of red shirts in front of them.
The equaliser came deep in stoppage-time and in scrappy fashion, as Mateo Kovacic’s shot dropped into the path of Stones, who reacted well to turn the ball home.
The England centre-back played as effectively a second striker with Haaland after coming on in the 78th minute, as Guardiola attempted to break down the Arsenal defence.
“He wanted me to play closer to Erling, higher up in the pitch to get more crosses in and hopefully try and win a few aerial duels,” Stones explained.
“It’s so interchangeable though, everyone plays in pockets. So fluid in movements and recognising that if someone’s not in their position, occupy it.
“I tried to go in there and get in the right areas, and it fell for me luckily. I’m really pleased to score a goal like that.”
