When the tie is a win

With an indelible mark of style he left Arsenal from Etihad in Manchester. His resistance exercise against almost unparalleled city of Pep Guardiola It was both a lesson in character and personality, especially the way he knew how to defend himself with 10 players for 55 minutes. The Gunners’ constant threat in the match and their fight on the pitch did Manchester City a lot of damage this time around. The most visible wounds, his anger and his veins.

In the end, it was not the victory that took Arsenal away, but the image of the confirmation of being a very solid team and ready to win the Premier League. He showed the mentality in which the most important parties should face each other, giving many signs of strength. The last tie has the characteristics of great achievements, due to personality and extravagance. Arsenal are a tough, practical and efficient team, which is what instills the most Arteta to his players in the last two years. This time the result meant little for the proud North London fan.

Some ‘skyblues’ players have gone so far as to criticize what they consider Arsenal’s ‘dirty’ or hostile behavior when defending themselves in an inferior position. What do you expect, facilities and space to score goals? Anxiety over the importance of the match led to some fights, tension and wasted time, but no one could argue with the bold approach to dealing with the debatable expulsion of Trossardfor a double yellow card. It was the fierce rivalry on the pitch, with someone less, that, in truth, wreaked havoc. More cautious than his annoyed players, Pep Guardiola He wanted to at least acknowledge the rival’s merits: “We understood the message, we knew they would be there for many years.” The champions’ hypocritical complaints about Arsenal’s poor style, even when compared to Liverpool, show just how crazy they are starting to be with their title rivals.

During the ‘Invincibles’ era, the remembered French coach Arsene Wenger They asked him about the absence of three of his stars and its influence on his team’s performance, to which the Alsatian replied without hesitation: “There is no player as good as all of them.” And that’s what his pragmatic successor is thinking now. Artetain charge of returning glory to Arsenal, or fighting for it, whose best virtue is to give the club the strength of a whole group. At the time his captain and game director, the Norwegian, was missing Odegaardthe spirit of unity in the field emerged as never before. He is still the best of the Gunners.

In the end, the Arsenal ‘earned’ more credit in Manchester and this time it wasn’t like last year’s goalless draw. He didn’t get the three points, but his strong mentality and ability to react shone through to discourage the champion. They worried him to push him to the limit, showing him a bad reaction of helplessness. All that, in itself, is a huge achievement.