After City scored, they took a defensive approach unlike one Guardiola has opted for previously.
They sat deep and blocked the centre of the pitch, making it difficult for Arsenal to find striker Viktor Gyokeres or attacking midfielders between the lines. Guardiola has typically asked his team to defend in a 4-4-2 and did to begin with, but City moved into a 5-4-1 or 5-5-0 as the game progressed.
So why did he opt for this approach?
This was the third game in seven days for an unchanged City side who were fatigued, according to Guardiola. Most teams would struggle to stifle Arsenal’s excellent build-up play, but with City tiring, defending deep prevented them from being exposed trying to press Arsenal.
It wasn’t just about stopping the build-up, but preventing Arsenal creating chances.
Arteta’s men eventually got their equaliser but it was telling the goal came from a direct ball over a City defence that had stepped up, rather than when the visitors sat deep.
Arsenal dominated the ball, but the 68% possession they had amounted to 0.61 expected goals in the second half.
The Gunners have played through the middle this season with Martin Zubimendi and Riccardo Calafiori key to this, before releasing their direct attackers.
City aimed to nullify Arsenal’s dangerous central quality by putting numerous bodies in the middle of the pitch. They also aimed to nullify runners by reducing the space they had in behind by being close to their own goal.
It is unlikely City will play that deep consistently going forward, but it was interesting to see such an attacking manager like Guardiola deploy a shape without a recognised striker, given his previous quotes about the formation.
“In prehistoric times, now and in 100,000 years, it is always very difficult to attack a 5-5 formation,” were his words when facing a similar tactical gameplan deployed by Atletico Madrid in 2022.
Ultimately it was a combination of acknowledging City’s fatigue and strong counter-attackers, while wanting to minimise Arsenal’s quality – particularly the home side’s directness, build-up and central attackers – that help explain the unique approach.
