Post-City quotes round-up: Arteta, Guardiola, Calafiori, Stones, Wright, Walcott, Hart & more
Today at 03:27 PM
Arsenal left the Etihad with a hard-fought point, despite being reduced to 10 men just before half-time. However, despite their resolute, backs-to-the-wall performance, there was an underlying sense of disappointment, as they came so close to securing their first away win against Manchester City since 2015.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of this afternoon’s 2-2 draw…
Mikel Arteta on his side’s performance…
We had a very difficult start. In the first 10-15 minutes we were struggling in two occasions to control certain spaces and we didn’t have enough ability to get out of the first 25-30 metres of the pitch, which meant that we never controlled the game. After that, we started to understand better what we had to do. We’re much more efficient. We’re back on the game, winning it and we had the best moment. Obviously, we were thrown to a context of the game that makes it almost impossible for 56 minutes. But anyway, we adapted to that context in the best possible way and the way the team competes is just unbelievable. I’m so proud of them. You cannot be thrown a more difficult situation against that kind of opponent and the way we deal with it, the way we handle the situation is unbelievable. I’m so proud of them.
Source:Post-game press conference
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Pep Guardiola on Arsenal’s rearguard action
A big compliment to Arsenal as they defended every ball until the end. We created chances, maybe not clear. They have Calafiori, Saliba, Gabriel, Partey and Rice -you know the commitment was so difficult. We did really well. They wanted to stop the game. We were patient enough. At the end we were fortunate and we tried to win in the second half.
Source:BBC Match of the Day
Man City (2.41) 2-2 (1.02) Arsenal
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) September 22, 2024
Riccardo Calafiori’s reaction to a hectic full debut…
I am so happy to have scored and I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t win. It was so tough. We reacted really good and the second half was extremely tough, more mentally than physically.
Source:BBC Match of the Day
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John Stones on Arsenal’s tactics…
I wouldn’t say they’ve mastered it. They’ve done it for a few years and 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 it upsets the rhythm for everyone. They use it for their advantage. I thought we dealt with it really well. It’s not easy when those things are happening, you’re trying to gain momentum and those little stoppages stop that.
Source: Sky Sports
Long shots this afternoon (efforts worth 0.05(xG) or less):
◎ Man City: 25
◎ Arsenal: 1Guess which one went in
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) September 22, 2024
Arteta’s thoughts on the nature of Trossard’s red card…
I’m expecting 100 Premier League games this season to play 10 against 11, or 10 against 10, or 9 against 10. Let’s see.
Source:Post-game press conference
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Theo Walcott on Arsenal’s effort…
They’ve worked so hard. They would have taken that at the start of the game. They’ve limited City to scraps.
Source: Sky Sports
28 – Man City's 98th minute equaliser was their latest goal scored on record (from 06-07) in a Premier League match. It was from their 28th shot of the second half, the joint-second highest ever by a side on record (from 03-04) in a single half of Premier League football. Chaos. pic.twitter.com/q7FAq3yEAm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 22, 2024
Joe Hart on an exciting showdown…
My heart is beating out of my chest, I absolutely loved that. Wild at the end, so much passion. A great effort from Arsenal, from the ten players. City stayed true to how they want to play. A special mention to David Raya's incredible performance.
Source:premierleague.com
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Arteta on the red card’s toll on the game…
I want to be involved in a game at this level that puts the game in a situation that we can enjoy it and we can talk about it in the proper way and we are not talking about that, it’s clear, you haven’t asked me one single tactical question.
Source:Post-game press conference
Man City vs Arsenal: Second Half Passes & Crosses pic.twitter.com/8l4tFs9ztj
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 22, 2024
Ian Wright on Arsenal settling for a point…
When he [Arteta] looks back at this if you go to City with ten men for so long, in the end, you've got to be happy to take the point. It would have brilliant if the game was 11 v 11. I'm so proud of the boys to go that long. It all kicked off at the end there because they went so close to holding off City, it would have been great from the mentally.
Source:premierleague.com
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Micah Richards on Arsenal’s centre-backs…
Gabriel and Saliba were unbelievable. To defend like that for 45 minutes in the second half against the best team in the league is remarkable. When Gabriel came to Arsenal he was making a few mistakes, but he has changed his game to be reliable.
Source: Sky Sports
Lol, Sky asked Opta how many mins the ball was in play for the 2nd half (obviously to feed a narrative about time wasting etc) & the answer was 35mins. The MOST of ANY game in the league this season.
— RG (@GeezyPeas) September 22, 2024
Roy Keane on Arsenal's decision to stick everyone behind the ball…
I know we're giving them credit for sitting in and defending but they still need to do a little bit more in possession. Ok, it came on late, the goal, but you always felt it was going to come. You're talking about Arsenal Football Club trying to win league titles, they done it as well against Brighton in the last 10 or 15 minutes, they were almost time-wasting, settling for a draw. I want to see another side to Arsenal and I didn't quite see it today.
Source:Sky Sports
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