A decent result or did Etihad bore draw point the way for Liverpool?
WILL Manchester City and Arsenal ultimately regret their Etihad stalemate – and was the match an enthralling tactical battle, or just plain boring? Our reporters give their verdict.
FELIX KEITH
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my football matches to have some goals and some excitement.
Two managers who know each other very well, starting with four centre-backs in defence and terrified of conceding counter-attacks is not a recipe for entertainment.
Dressing up a stalemate as a ‘tactical battle’ or a ‘chess match’ is reductive. Just because Guardiola and Arteta are intelligent managers, doesn’t mean we have to praise their nous and analyse their approaches. Call a bore draw a bore draw.
As for what it all means, it was clearly a better result for Arsenal than City, but - no matter what they say - there should be a tinge of regret. Liverpool have the advantage – and that didn’t have to be the case.
ALEX RICHARDS
Manchester City and Arsenal put the Premier League title race into Liverpool’s hands.
Mentally, that’s a huge boost for a side who will look at their remaining nine fixtures and believe they can win them all.
As for the game at the Etihad itself, there’s just no way to paint it as being exciting. Billed as one that could ultimately define the season, it was a damp squib.
What it needed was an early goal to open it up. It didn’t get one and the more things progressed, the more Arsenal sat in and showed they were far happier to not lose than to go for the win.
That in itself was quite telling. When Liverpool and City face off, they go toe-to-toe, as we saw at Anfield recently. Does Arteta consider his side as inferior to their rivals? Given what transpired, it seems so.
JAKE POLDEN
“We lost three points today,” an incensed Mikel Arteta announced after Arsenal’s defeat at Newcastle earlier in the season. “Guys, you know what that means? It’s too hard, this league, it’s too hard, it’s too much at stake, it’s embarrassing.” So if you thought the Gunners boss was going to risk it all for two measly points at the Etihad then you were bound to be disappointed by Sunday’s showing. Boring? Yes. Tactically enthralling? No. A good result for both clubs? Absolutely. Had Manchester City or Arsenal lost this weekend’s contest it would have been the psychological nail in their respective coffin. A draw means they’re both still in the running.
TOM VICTOR
Both had good reason for being cautious. The hosts’ big issue was injuries while Arsenal may well still be scarred by the defeat last year which destroyed their title hopes.
I’m in the minority who found the game entertaining, if only for the very visible tension as both sides looked to avoid costly errors.
The pressure and size of the task really came through, with every microdecision an important one; while that might have cost us spontaneity, the quality in both sides’ attention-to-detail was plain to see.
It’s understandable that both managers appeared to value avoiding defeat above all else. Even then, both could easily have stolen victory with some sharper finishing, and if that was the case then regret wouldn’t even enter the conversation for the winner.
RICH JONES
Arsenal could regret it, Manchester City won’t. City tried to play their own game, but things just didn’t seem to click.
It seemed like Arsenal were far more content not to lose than to try and win the game. If the title race goes down to the wire, they could regret that, because it felt like City could have been there for the taking.
For me, Arsenal’s approach seemed a reflection of how they still see themselves in the Premier League title race. They set up almost like they see themselves as inferior. By contrast, City and Liverpool’s recent draw was a humdinger between two teams with full confidence in their convictions and throwing everything they’ve got at one another.