As is fitting for such a lamentable match, the spotlight was fully on the managers. First up was the moment Leandro Trossard waited to be substituted, a vacant expression on his face whilst Mikel Arteta clutched him tightly, urgently whispering instructions into his ear for what felt like an unnaturally long time.
Just a mere twenty minutes later, a similar empty gaze could be spotted on Jack Grealish. Pep Guardiola strode towards him, shouting and waving arms in front of not only the stadium spectators, but countless millions viewing the game on television, chastising him for what felt like the longest 20 seconds of his life. Then, Guardiola shifted his attention towards another altercation with Gabriel Magalhães.
Deemed not up to scratch for the Pep machine after only half an hour on the field, Grealish accepted Guardiola’s verbal lashing by remaining silent (he’s not Kevin de Bruyne, he doesn’t have the statistics to challenge it). The best response when Guardiola is giving you a piece of his mind is to retreat into your thoughts, possibly reminiscing of a time when football was an enjoyable sport.
Indeed, Grealish wasn’t alone in feeling this way after a full 90 minutes of City vs Arsenal, as Arteta and Guardiola gave us yet another taste of over-organised, advanced level dross on a stick.
It’s apparent that these teams have evolved far beyond the mid-2000s sides managed by José Mourinho and Rafael Benitez, which led Jorge Valdano to invent that harsh yet essential term. For instance, the current City team averages close to 700 passes per game, significantly more than the approximately 450 averaged by Liverpool and Chelsea back in the stick-on-a-stick era. Many people would argue that it looks like a completely different game.
Nonetheless, a change is not always for the better. Arsenal and City, arguably two of the best sides in Europe, have managed to churn out three totally dire games this season.
The first was the Community Shield, which Arsenal won on penalties following a dull 1-1 draw. The opening 45 minutes were almost farcically strange, with City provocatively trying to lure the press while stationed at the back, and Arsenal adamantly refusing to take the bait. The result was an odd stalemate, a non-event of a match.
The goals poured in that day, all thanks to deflected shots which unsettled the tactful defensive systems put into action by the coaches. A similar story happened during the disheartening league match at the Emirates in October, where only two shots were targeted by Arsenal, while City failed to get any. In the final moments, a fortuitous shot by Gabriel Martinelli bounced off Nathan Ake’s face, deviating past Ederson for a single goal.
Perhaps the issue at the Etihad on Sunday was the lack of such deflection-induced goals. After all, when you have a forward line led by Gabriel Jesus, who has no interest in the game of chance that is deflection, it can be a game changer. As Jesus feigned shot after shot on the outskirts of the City box, assisted by Declan Rice, one had to question what would push him to actually make a move.
Perhaps he was concerned about the fallout from his manager if he lost the ball in such a perilous position. The areas in which players are encouraged to gamble on are changing, like everything else about the game. This was demonstrated 26 minutes in when Stefan Ortega slid a lateral pass to Mateo Kovacic, who had retreated into the back line to start the play. Bukayo Saka moved in to intercept, eliminating alternative moves. In response, Kovacic evaded Saka, resulting in a roar from the spectators.
That was about the only thing worth celebrating in what was probably one of the most static halves of the season. One-on-one challenges are uncommon, but when they do occur, they’re usually in the defending half rather than the attacking one. Until Jeremy Doku entered the game in the second half, virtually no one was attempting to outdo their opponents offensively.
As the players carried on with their monotonous passing routine, a burst of unpredictability or surprise was much needed…but who could predict how negatively the coaches might respond to such a perceived risky play?
William Saliba spoke confidently after the match, stating Arsenal’s dissatisfaction with the draw, an attitude demonstrated notably by their goalie David Raya. Raya’s tactics during the second half of the match included preparing for short goal kicks, only to subsequently draw everyone forward for a long kick. This strategy eventually awarded him a yellow card for time-wasting in the 79th minute.
The team, led by Arteta, seemed to have a defensive strategy with the intention of avoiding loss. This meticulous defence must have had George Graham praising his previous team from a distance. Throughout the second half, the gameplay around their penalty area felt as claustrophobic as a game of indoor-football in an elevator. City struggled to penetrate the defence as the usual brilliance of de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden was missing. Arsenal could have secured the victory if they had made the most of their chances, but Havertz, Jesus, and Trossard squandered their opportunities.
The lack of space begged for Julian Alvarez’s presence, yet Guardiola refrained from deploying him, possibly due to Alvarez’s participation in the Argentina vs Costa Rica match in Los Angeles earlier on Thursday.
City’s recent performance has been unexpectedly slow, winning just three of their recent six league games. This is not the typical form expected of them at this stage of the league. Post-match, Guardiola repeatedly pointed to Arsenal’s formidable physical presence, hinting towards what he believed his team lacked.