Arsenal faced Manchester City last weekend in what may be one of the dullest games we’ve seen in the Premier League this season.
To say this game was underwhelming would be an understatement, there was a serious lack of attacking intent from both teams, and it looked as though Arsenal were happy to settle for a 0-0.
Interestingly, by the sounds of it, Arsenal’s gameplan heading into the game was indeed to sit back and take the draw.
Arsenal’s gameplan heading into the Man City game
Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Michail Antonio has been reviewing this game.
By chance, Antonio actually bumped into the Arsenal squad at the airport a day before their game against City, and he took this opportunity to have a bit of a catch-up with Declan Rice.
Rice and Antonio, of course, know each other well from their time as teammates at West Ham.
According to Antonio, Rice told him the Gunners’ gameplan the day before the game, saying that Arsenal would be a completely different team against City.
“The craziest thing was we saw Dec, we landed back from Newcastle and Arsenal were at the airport getting ready to take off, so we spoke to Dec and he told us the game plan to be fair,” Antonio said.
“He didn’t tell us but he was like ‘we are not going to play, we are not playing like we normally play’. That’s what he said to us, ‘it’s going to be slightly different’.
“We said ‘in what way?’ And he said ‘It ain’t the same Arsenal team’.
“Then when I saw it I applauded. At the end of the day football is entertainment but it’s also a job. And they did their job.
“That is what made me respect Arteta even more. Do you know who else used to do that and win leagues? Mourinho.”
Arsenal’s gameplan worked
Arsenal clearly went into this game just hoping for any sort of result, and they got it.
Say what you will about the negative brand of football, a draw away at the Etihad can never be considered a bad result, and it’s kept Arsenal within touching distance of the top of the table.
Of course, Arsenal don’t want to play like this on a regular basis, but in these big games where a draw is a decent result away from home, it can be effective.
Don’t be shocked if Arsenal play in a similar way against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The post ‘The craziest thing’: Michail Antonio shares what Declan Rice told him the day before Arsenal played Man City appeared first on TBR Football.