Mikel Arteta has insisted that Arsenal have learnt from past mistakes when going down to 10 men, claiming: “If not I’d be very thick.”
The Gunners boss launched a solid defence of his team’s tactical approach to Sunday’s draw at Manchester City – even if he would not be drawn on the reaction of several City stars’ complaints over their supposed use of “the dark arts” at the Etihad.
Arsenal were hammered 5-0 by City in August 2021 after Granit Xhaka was sent off late in the first half and they were also defeated late on in January 2022 when Gabriel was shown a second yellow card.
And, speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup game against Bolton, Arteta said his team had learnt how to manage games better since – but did his best not to be drawn on the criticisms of his streetwise side.
“Well, we had to play the game that we had to play,” he said. “The first 10, 15 minutes, we couldn’t with 11 vs 11. Then we got much better. Then we were thrown in a very different context and did what every team does.
“They played 30 seconds with 10 men. Look what they did for 30 seconds. It’s normal what they did. We had to do it in a different way.
“We learnt from the past. Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation a few times. We were in that same situation with Granit after 38 minutes and we lost 5-0. We’d better learn. If not I would be thick, very thick.”
Arteta went on to hail his players for how they adapted to the conditions of the game – even if three points were reduced to one in the 98th minute when John Stones equalised.
After a bruising week, that began with a North London derby win and featured a Champions League draw away to Atalanta, Arteta added: “The team has a desire to compete in any context to win and to adapt. Different competitions and different ways of playing – it is superb.
“Happy? No. Because we wanted to win the three games, but I understand how tough that context is and how difficult it is.
“The things we have to deal with and our own issues with the amount of players we have out. It is a significant improvement and we have to be happy with that.”