Mikel Arteta has been criticised for not swallowing his pride and changing Arsenal's tactics during their hugely damaging defeat by Manchester City.
The Gunners were thrashed 4-1 by City on Wednesday in a result which delivered a hammer blow to their hopes of winning the Premier League title. Kevin De Bruyne was the chief architect of their loss, scoring twice and setting up John Stones' header as City romped into a 3-0 lead.
Rob Holding pulled a goal back late on before Erling Haaland rubbed further salt into the wounds in added time. Arsenal still have a two-point lead over City at the top of the table, but Pep Guardiola’s side have two games in hand and are in ominous form.
Arsenal were overwhelmed by City’s press which stopped them from playing out from the back, while De Bruyne was frequently able to link up with Haaland in dangerous positions. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand felt Arteta played into City’s hands and was slow to react to turn the tide.
“Arsenal went man-to-man at the back in that area a lot of the time and couldn’t compete,” he said on BT Sport. “I think sometimes in-game management in these situations – not just from the manager, from players.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be humble enough to go: ‘Listen, I need some bodies around me, give that to the touchline, speak to the manager.’ Even at half-time, at the moment it’s not going our way, we need a few more bodies around us to build some confidence.
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“Tweaks in game can happen, today it didn’t happen, but occasions like this can be a whirlwind and take it away from you and I think that happened today with this team.”
Former City defender Joleon Lescott drew a comparison with Guardiola, who changed the way his side set up from the 3-1 win over Arsenal back in February. “Pep talked about his philosophy, he had to change it from a winning philosophy,” he said.
“He said we went to the Emirates and I wasn’t happy, they won, and he had to change something. Mikel Arteta’s faced Pep three times this season and they’ve lost every time, and he hasn’t changed.”
Arteta has lost all three meetings with his former colleague this season, while City have won 15 of their last 16 games against Arsenal in all competitions. Guardiola has dominated matches against Arteta, claiming nine wins from 10 versus his protege.
Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table has all but disappeared following a winless run of four matches. The Gunners threw away two-goal leads against Liverpool and West Ham to draw 2-2 before an even more damaging 3-3 draw with Southampton.
They will play Chelsea next on Tuesday before tricky-looking fixtures against Newcastle and Brighton.
