When seconds were ticked in the Emirates, Mikel Arteta was probably already able to see the headline.
Manchester City – the team that was Viet Noir in his tenure as Arsenal boss – Arteta’s side was just minutes after his ninth defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola.
Sunday’s game was a different beast than we’d seen before. City scored an early goal, then sat back and defended deeply in a style that was more reminiscent of Jose Mourinho than Guardiola.
That almost worked too. Pep packs his team with a noble giant, neutralizing the threat of Arsenal’s set-pieces and limiting it to minimal chances, but one moment changed the game and the way we perceived.
It would have felt like a victory for Arsenal right afterwards, but Guardiola would be happy for the two managers.
And when the euphoria of the last minute equalizer faded, there was a sense of what was certainly happening. Just like he played against Liverpool, Arteta decided to drop Ebe-Beti-Eze to the bench despite his excellent show with Nottingham Forest the previous weekend.
Even against the Athletics mid-week, Arteta started out with Eze and Noni Madueke, earning a 2-0 away victory. Still, something about Guardiola urged Arteta to return to a familiar focus. Stay in control and keep the ball out of your net as a priority.
This is a theme that has become increasingly frustrating for almost men in the Premier League. Over the past three years, I have been aiming to be runner-up in Arsenal finishes, but each time I have not been able to take that final step.
To be fair to Arteta, he improved his side against Big Six. When he joined in 2019, they averaged 1.17 points per game. Last season, I had up to two points, but I still have a sense that I need to do more.
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The three teams that Pep Guardiola defeated most frequently in his career are Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Arsenal also tops Jurgen Klopp’s list. Even Arsene Wenger’s record is Chelsea in his top five winning records.
Arteta has Chelsea in the top three, but the Stamford Bridge side has experienced a massive drop-off since Wenger’s year. The same goes for Manchester United, which ranks fourth on Arteta’s most beating list. Against City and Liverpool (the only title winner since 2017), Arteta combines a record of 32 games, nine wins, eight draws and 15 losses.
Early in his tenure there was a fair argument that he had no players to compete with top clubs, but now he has done so much and he has yet to choose not to use some of them.
This control-centric approach has its advantages and disadvantages. At first, Arteta’s team is rarely destroyed. Their biggest loss last season was 2-0, and they conceded the fewest goals in the league. However, during his defensive era, he won the Premier League.
Last season, Arsenal scored 17 fewer goals than Liverpool. Manchester City surpassed them the previous year. The team last won the league in Leicester in 2016, with fewer than the 69 goals Arsenal scored last year.
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The competitive nature of the Modern Premier League also means that you can’t afford to drop points in more than a handful of games.
In the 2021/22 season, City slipped in just nine games, still winning the league by just one point. Over the next two years they dropped points in just 10 games. Last season was a bit of an outlier, and managed to win after four of Liverpool’s 13 mistakes secured the title. However, Arsenal has already dropped points in two games, while Liverpool has five to five.
And while Arteta is reluctant to pay attention to winds at least on larger teams, it could cost them in the Premier League, which could be the first tactic in the club’s history to bring about Champions League success.
If the league campaign is a marathon, the cup competition is like a boxing match. You can get and give the most punches in a short time before moving to your next opponent and starting fresh.
Knockout football is often determined in one of two ways. It’s a two-team team that keeps it strong and is sure to outperform two teams like Mourinho’s Inter, or two opponents like Zidane’s Madrid or Enrique’s Barcelona.
Arsenal unfolded their previous methods in a great effect last season, especially when they faced Real Madrid. That extra defensive focus ensured the Madrid attack on paper by Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.
However, this approach requires good fortune to go your way. Arsenal was two Declan rice free kicks away from the disappointing results at home, but they had to go to the Bernabeu to win.
You also need to be lucky with the people you are facing. Arsenal defeated PSG 2-0 in the group stage, but the French side were a different team when they met again in the semi-finals.
Did Arsenal beat PSG in a one-legged game? Perhaps beyond two legs, Arsenal failed to capitalize on the advantage of the home, and when he tried to overturn the 1-0 scoreline from the home, he found the task to be too big.
A 2-0 away victory was a great way to launch a 24th attempt at the European top trophy, and whether it was design or by chance, Arteta has built a team ready to go all the way in the Champions League. But all of that or neglect approach may not save him, even if it was another trophyless year.
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