THAT WAS A SERIOUS PERFORMANCE! Man City 0-0 Arsenal Reaction @deludedgooner

You want to win the game, we're prepared to win it. We cannot win it and make sure we draw it and we've done that. And 11 months ago we were here and the story was very different and we have to continue to make steps as a team and try to improve. And today we've done that and we still have many more to come. You just mentioned the low block. When they hardly allow you to enter the box, what's the solution? Kill someone, play with nine. It's all part of the master plan, wasn't it? It's funny. Rival fans thought we was losing at the empty hat. Apologies. Eti had greatest of respect for Man City, but the jokes have to fly. Fortunately for Arsenal Football Club, Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff, they had different ideas and people say, oh, it weren't entertaining. You're celebrating a draw. Nobody's celebrating a draw. If you can't win, don't lose. And Arsenal were resolute, we were difficult to break down. And we did not allow Manchester City to score. Now you can be forgiven for expecting going into the game, you know, two of the top goal scorers in the Premier League, the innovative manager that is Mikel Arteta and, you know, the greatest manager of all time, arguably Pep Guardiola. They're two masterminds, you know, so you could have been expecting if you was a neutral to see a decent game of football in terms of entertainment. But as has been the case in the last few games, when we beat them at Wembley, when we beat them at the Emirates and obviously the draw at the Etihad, simply put, both teams have cancelled each other out. Now, Arsenal have been known for the swagger they play with and the high intensity pressing, but defence wins titles. I don't know if Arsenal will go on to win titles, but to know we can pull up away from home and put in a performance like that and not allow us to be broken down, fair enough. And I want to say as well, everybody cries about, everybody's crying about Arsenal, you know, parking the bus and things like that. Why would we go gunshot for gunshot with Manchester City? We'd be in trouble. And I'm not being funny, but have you watched the Premier League? Nine times out of ten, this is how teams set up against us. So it was nice to give another team that plays in a lucid sense the way we play a taste of their own medicine. In the modern game, what happens off the ball is what tells the story. You know, against Manchester City, your shape and your structure off the ball is the most vital component required to get something. We literally said to them, you know what, come and break us down. I know we've got clean sheets and we've got all these things, but I don't think Arsenal are given enough respect when it comes to the defensive aspect of the game. Maybe it's because we're not an ugly team like that. And we've got the perfect blend of being able to score goals, being able to score different variations of goals. Obviously, we've got some good looking players, boards, and we score some great goals, but we don't get our credit defensively. And the shape was great. We said, come and break us down. Obviously, you know, Pep Guardiola had coverage almost like a centre-back at times when playing out from the back. And I think we did well in that regard. I think whenever Kevin De Bruyne and Foden moved, we had an accompanying body to follow them. And you could extend that to Kyrgios and Jesus on the left-hand side. The man that was spare would either engage or drop off as well. And again, you know, I think it was a decent game. Again, I can't go as far as to say we left the blueprint of how to stifle City. But what other teams can say? They've kept a clean sheet across two games against Manchester City. And when you saw our two banks of four, our 4-4-2 formation again, loosely, it was difficult to break down from us. And I have to give credit to Mikel Arteta, but also the players' willingness to do it. It was an ugly performance. I think Gabriel Jesus and Havertz, among everyone, on top of everyone, had a very good game. And I think we coped with the issues they provide in terms of build-up play and their players getting into spaces and pockets. And we limited the space that those players could get into, if I'm completely honest with you. Even when Rico Luis came on and they kind of altered things as well, I think it was a fantastic defensive display from front to back, if I'm honest with you guys. I'm not going to lie. On another day where the first half's concerned, I think our coordinated press could have been better. And that was better in the second half. But even when we was in a mid and low block and we was, you know, parked outside the edge of our area, we remained resolute. I'm proud of my boys. Every football fan knows goals win games, defence win titles. When I speak of defence, I have to mention everybody. Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard. Everybody, you know, everyone. Declan Rice in the engine room. Even Jorginho. Everyone in our team had a willingness to defend and have some grit and determination against Manchester City in previous years, probably excluding the last two years under Mikel Arteta. You know, nine times out of ten in games like this, of the 11 starting players and however many come off the bench, nine times out of ten, there's only two players that stand out to be counted and it's the usual suspects. Everybody was on it today. So I praise everyone's temperament, everyone's willingness to graft, everybody's willingness to defend and put in the shift and stick to the game plan of limiting the space and limiting Manchester City from exploiting us and obviously taking points from us. But you can't look beyond your centre half pairing. I have to say it. Shout out to Kiril and Benjamin White and Tommy Yasu off the bench and everybody, like I said. But Saliba and Gabriel, many teams, many supporters would pray just to have one defender of the standard of either. We've got both. Gabriel has gone from strength to strength since signing under Mikel Arteta and he's really becoming more of a seasoned vet. He's aggressive. He likes to defend. He likes to relish his big games. He puts his body on the line. He will not be bullied. And the same is said for Saliba. Of course, Saliba is more gracious, but that's why they make such a great pairing. Saliba is the more gracious one. Gabriel's the aggressor. I'm not going to lie to you. I genuinely believe Gabriel needs to hire better PR teams because take nothing away from Saliba. But I think Gabriel was better than him. And I don't listen. It's a good conversation. But I don't think Gabriel gets the praise Saliba does when he plays. Well, he was colossal today. He was the one getting tight to Harlem really and being the sacrificial lamb. Take nothing away from Saliba. The only thing I would say about Saliba's performance is I think in the beginning, his passing was a bit off, but he bossed it. We have two monster defenders and they've done it not once, not twice, but three times against Harlem. Not to mention we've kept Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, all of them guys quiet. That's one thing people were saying. Oh, they didn't have Kevin and Rodri at the Emirates. I didn't know they had them at the Etihad. Nah, it's all entertainment. But, you know, Harlem hates playing against our centre-halves and that's what's required. And the scary thing is we haven't even scratched the surface of either centre-back's true potential. They're going to go on and become bigger and better and become more key players for their team at international level. But our centre-back stood up to be counted and they're very reliable, which hasn't always been said. As I said, Saliba's passing probably could have been better in the game, but who really cares? The statistics he needed to dominate, he dominated. And the same said for Gabriel. Benjamin White, I feel watching the game again, had a tremendous game. Obviously, Kyrgios had some nervy periods, but he stood up to be counted. The whole team defensively, we attack together, we defend together. And we absolutely bossed it where the game's concerned, if I'm honest with you. I do think, you know, you have to give credit. You know, Harlem is reliant on his service. We kept the servicemen of Manchester City quiet. We kept Harlem quiet. It's as simple as that. You do that, you're more likely to not concede. And Bernardo Silva and Pep were filled with admiration for our team. And we limited their shots from open play. This is unheard of for Arsenal and where Man City is concerned. Come on, guys. This was a great performance from us. As stated, I'll take pride in how we competed and how we left the Etihad with something. But in terms of going to the next level, there's always improvements we can make as a football club. Mikel Arteta, in my opinion, did set up to stifle City, but I think he would have liked more in an attacking sense. We didn't have that many shots or have that many passes or play in an attacking sense to the way we normally can. And when you look at Martin Odegaard's comments after the game, he did say, you know, that we probably defended a bit deeper than we needed to. Maybe that was a byproduct. There were times I think we didn't know whether to stick or twist. There were times, obviously, we were doing things on the counter-attack. You would have hoped Trossart could have found Martinelli. Obviously, Gabriel Jesus had a couple more opportunities as well. So, yeah, to go to the next level, as much as we think about City and set up to stifle them, you want to see us play a bit more on the counter-attack, play a bit more on the counter-attack. You want to see us play a bit more in an attacking sense and cause some troubles to Odegaard and their kind of makeshift defence and obviously get some goals. But if you can't win, don't lose. And that's exactly what happened. So there's always improvements. But the title race goes on for another week. The only winners this weekend, in my opinion, are Liverpool. But we left the Etihad with something to play for and with our dreams still intact. But we keep going on to Luton and the other tests that are in the Premier League. Don't forget to smash the like button, comment, subscribe. Let me know your thoughts. On that note, though, appreciative of you lot tuning in. DG, I'm out.