Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his team's tactics during the 2-2 draw against Manchester City, calling their approach "normal." The Gunners faced a tough situation after Leandro Trossard was sent off in first-half stoppage time, leading to a late equalizer from City in the 98th minute.
Following the match, City players John Stones and Kyle Walker accused Arsenal of using "dark arts" to protect their 2-1 lead, citing time-wasting tactics. However, Arteta argued that his side had little choice but to adopt a defensive stance due to their numerical disadvantage. He pointed out that City also had to adapt when they were briefly down to 10 men after Rodri's injury.
"We had to play the game we needed to play. In the first 15 minutes, we couldn’t. They played 30 seconds with 10 men, and look at what they did. It’s normal," Arteta said. "Unfortunately, we’ve been in that situation before, like when Granit Xhaka was sent off and we lost 5-0 in 2021. We need to learn from these experiences."
David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and Gabriel Martinelli all suffered from cramp during the second half against Manchester City, leading to accusations of time-wasting. However, Mikel Arteta confirmed that the Gunners will be missing several injured players for Wednesday's EFL Cup match against Bolton.
"I always prefer facts to speculation," Arteta said. "Let’s see who’s available tomorrow before discussing any so-called dark arts."
He acknowledged that a few players would be unavailable but was cautious about the seriousness of the injuries. "We’ll have to wait on one of them," he added.
Regarding Leandro Trossard's second yellow card for kicking the ball away after a foul on Bernardo Silva, Arteta noted that this was the second instance this season of an Arsenal player being sent off for a similar offense, following Declan Rice's red card against Brighton in August.
When asked if he needed to remind his players about the rule, Arteta responded, "For passing the ball away? Yes, just leave the ball alone. We play without the ball."
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