Arsenal shut down ‘'The best in the world’'

 If the defense can win the title, Arsenal should have a chance too.

Arsenal held Manchester City to a goalless draw on Sunday to maintain a one-point lead over the champions. This is the first time since October 2021 that City have failed to score in a home league match, with their streak ending at 47.

Since Josep Guardiola took over as Premier League manager in the summer of 2016, City have kept the number of touches into the opponent's penalty area to a minimum (four) in the first half at the Etihad Stadium. City striker Erling Haaland has failed to score in three games against Arsenal this season. Central defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães were acting as Arsenal's bouncers on the edge of the penalty area. Your name is not on the list, so you will not enter.

Two clean sheets against City in two league games this season is a source of pride for manager Mikel Arteta. "That's a very difficult thing to do," he said in the post-match press conference. “It shows the dedication of each player, the discipline they showed and the way they competed.”

Playing away presents a unique challenge for City. No player in the Premier League has forced Arsenal to play with more compactness and depth. Arteta has suggested that a low block is part of the plan, but also inevitable.

"When they (City) attack well, they put us in a low block and it's very difficult to get out of there," the Arsenal manager said. "They can give a striker a goalkeeper and an attacking midfielder. They can put a full-back or a central defender into the game. If you want to chase these seven or eight players inside and leave Haaland alone, that's your choice. It would be great if we could win. If not, you know what's going on...there's a fine line with them.

It is this line that Arsenal carefully followed in East Manchester yesterday. It's a testament to their concentration that they were able to defend for such a long period of time. "Clarity," Arteta concluded. “Are you ready to complete 30 passes? And then after getting the ball back, he lost the ball and made 30 more passes? yes? If yes, then you are ready to play for Manchester City. Is it that important? If you are not ready, you cannot play. »

“My brain gets tired,” Saliba admitted. “We know they are the best team in the world, so we have to stay focused throughout the game.”

Guardiola was so irritated by Arsenal's defensive zeal that when asked what was the best way to break down a low block, he jokingly shrugged and suggested: "Kill someone?" Saliba and Gabriel may have been high on Guardiola's target list, but this was a team effort for Arsenal. Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice led the press, looking to take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding City's development with injured trio Ederson and defenders John Stones and Kyle Walker in goal. But once City got past them, the team collapsed into a low block with impressive efficiency.

Gabriel Jesus started on the left wing, mostly acting as a defender for Bernardo Silva, usually filling the space at left-back when the Portuguese midfielder moved inside or deep.

It meant that Jesus provided Jakub Kiwior with necessary support in what was arguably the biggest club game of the Poland international’s career. Guardiola has previously asserted that City old boy Jesus is one of the best defensive forwards in the world. He would’ve been left cursing that fact after another typically committed display.

“It’s tough to play against them,” admitted Bernardo. “Man to man when they were pressing high, (and) when they were defending low, their wingers were playing as full-backs in almost a line of six.

“It’s never easy to play against teams that defend this well — when they’re high pressing and when they defend deep they defend so well and so connected.”

Bernardo saw a team who had learned from their 4-1 mauling in this fixture last season. “(In that game) Last April, I felt they were doing man to man all over the pitch for the whole game, and when you do man to man, it’s a bit of a 50/50,” he told the media. “If you have quick players like Kevin (De Bruyne) and Erling, it’s always tough to play against… Today, it wasn’t quite the same.”

If you are to get a clean sheet against City, you will occasionally need a stroke of luck. Arsenal were arguably fortunate that Nathan Ake failed to convert a headed chance in the first half. When the ball did break for Haaland after the interval, he missed his kick.

This might have been Arsenal’s day. After spending the first 25 minutes on the back foot, they began to carve out opportunities on the break. Arteta was visibly frustrated about his side’s inability to punish City’s rare defensive lapses. “No way can you be fully happy (with just a point),” he said. “We played the game in an exceptional way, and in other parts of the game we could have done much better, especially with the ball in the final third.”

Overall, this was a much more mature Arsenal than the version we saw on this pitch 11 months ago — tactically, physically and emotionally. “I think we have made a big step today,” said Arteta. “We had the experience of playing here last season and we have come across in a different way today.”

There is a prevailing stereotype of Arsenal as a fragile side — a notion that is now entirely outdated. Whether they win the league next month or not remains to be seen, but their progress is clear. If Arsenal can defend so effectively against the team Arteta calls “by far the best in the world”, they can do so against anyone.