Arsenal 5 Manchester City 1: tactical analysis

Arsenal closed the gap on leaders Liverpool to six points, while boosting their goal difference and belief with this thumping victory against Manchester City. The visitors may not be mathematically out of the title race yet, but they look a shadow of the team that has won the Premier League in the previous four seasons. Nonetheless, for Arsenal to score five goals against City – and at a time when the Gunners’ goalscoring prowess has been questioned – left the home crowd heading home very happy indeed.

They did not have to wait long to see their team take the lead, with Martin Ødegaard putting Arsenal in front after Manuel Akanji lost possession close to goal. Kai Havertz should have made it two when City again lost the ball close to goal, but the German fired wide of the target. City then grew into the game, and when Erling Haaland headed them level after 55 minutes, no one would surely have predicted what was about to unfold.

Within two minutes Thomas Partey had restored Arsenal’s lead, intercepting a Phil Foden pass and seeing his shot deflected past Stefan Ortega. City’s German goalkeeper got a hand to a Myles Lewis-Skelly shot six minutes later, but could not prevent the 18-year-old scoring his first goal for Arsenal. City were punished again after 76 minutes, being picked off on a counter that was finished by Havertz. And Arsenal’s perfect day was complete when 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri curled home a fifth in added time.

Below our UEFA-licensed coaches have picked out the tactical highlights from a memorable day for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium…

How the managers saw it

“We were very aggressive,” said Mikel Arteta. “We played with a lot of courage with and without the ball. With the high press, the limits are really, really thin – we scored a goal, should have scored another one clearly. After – even if you want it – they [City] are that good that sometimes you have to stay deep and defend deep, and suffer, and enjoy those moments as well. We had a bit of luck in certain moments and then we had the opportunity – our intentions, our aggression with the ball, how we wanted to hurt them, the way we finished the actions, [was] exceptional.”

“I only regret the last 25 minutes,” said Pep Guardiola. “We forgot to do what we should do, what we have done for 65/70 minutes… the rest was a really good game for our side. It’s difficult to understand when you see the result, but this is my feeling.”

Arsenal’s press

Arteta’s team spent the majority of the game in a 4-4-2 block, doing their defending inside their own half. But Arsenal’s two best chances in the first half came when they pressed City high, jumping on straight balls played into marked players close to the box. In the second minute Leandro Trossard’s clever inward press helped regain from Akanji, with Declan Rice aggressive in jumping from midfield as well. Partey was supported by one of Arsenal’s centre-backs moving higher, locking on to any straight central passes. From Trossard’s regain (below), Rice played in Havertz, who squared the ball to Ødegaard to give Arsenal an early boost.

Straight balls into midfield continued to be defended well by Arsenal, who created an excellent chance with their high pressing to score a second after 25 minutes. This time Ødegaard pressed inwards while also screening a wide pass, which forced the ball into a central pressing trap. Rice’s jumping meant he was on hand to regain and feed Havertz (below), who this time shot wide. Arsenal didn’t press often during the match, but it was a tactic that created clear opportunities when they did.

Attempting to break a block

After the opening goal, for the majority of the first half both teams were trying to break the other’s block. For Arsenal, Ødegaard dropped very deep to receive – often within the back line, occasionally as the deepest player, which limited his ability to combine and create from within the block. When he did manage to get forward in the first half, he cleverly slipped in Gabriel Martinelli, whose effort was disallowed for offside. But for all that Arsenal tried to disrupt City with different supporting movements – particularly from their full-backs – they created little of note for the rest of the first half.

City – initially in a 3-2-4-1 shape in possession – also struggled to break the opposition’s block. As the visitors began to have more of the ball, Bernardo Silva moved higher and worked as a third number 10 between the lines, supporting between Foden and Omar Marmoush. Similar to Arsenal, though, they struggled to penetrate with their passing or dribbling, often declining to cross, combine, play in behind or work efforts on goal.

As a result, neither team’s back line spent much time actually defending opponents. Instead, they slid and screened behind their respective midfield units, who were compact through the middle. For Arsenal, Rice, Partey and a narrowing winger covered City’s three 10s, which allowed the centre-backs to overload Haaland (below).

Efficient Arsenal 

City scored with their first effort on goal in the second half, at which point it was a genuine contest. Not for long, though, as it turned out to be their only effort, whereas Arsenal’s play with the ball was much more incisive in the second half. Against City’s block, the home team played probing passes to teammates who were positive with their receiving around the opposing back line – which Ødegaard helped by positioning himself much higher. A case in point came when Lewis-Skelly received between the lines (below) and worked a shot as soon as possible, scoring a crucial third.

Arsenal then utilised their 4-4-2 low block to see the game out, attacking via counter-attacks from deep. Whether it was central regains from Partey and Rice, or back-pressing from their forwards, they thwarted any promising City advance. From there they exposed the City back line with relative ease, taking advantage of huge spaces on either side to carry the ball into and play through balls for wide runners. Martinelli had the first counter-attacking chance, before Havertz grabbed Arsenal’s fourth in an almost identical breakaway. Nwaneri’s fifth came in added time as a ruthless, efficient Arsenal scored four second-half goals from five shots on target.

Much of the January transfer-window narrative has centred around Arsenal’s search for a striker, just as it did in January 2024. They didn’t sign anyone 12 months ago, and went on to score 18 goals in four Premier League games in February. If Arteta’s team can go on a similar run this season, they will give themselves an excellent chance of challenging for the league title as winter turns to spring.

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