Fans Fume at “Negative” Pep Guardiola and Man City’s “Dinosaur Football” After Arsenal Draw

Pep Guardiola was widely accused of employing “negative” tactics during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Sunday.

City actually made the perfect start at the Emirates Stadium when Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the ninth minute, firing home after combining with Tijjani Reijnders on a rapid counter-attack. It was Haaland’s 11th goal in his last seven games for club and country — a run which also includes his five-goal demolition of Moldova for Norway earlier this month.

But after seizing an early advantage, City never looked like building on it. Guardiola’s side retreated deeper and deeper, registered just eight touches inside Arsenal’s penalty area across the whole game, and eventually conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser to Gabriel Martinelli.

Prior to Martinelli’s goal, Guardiola had used all five of his substitutions with the intention of protecting the lead. Haaland had been withdrawn for defensive midfielder Nico Gonzalez, while Phil Foden was replaced by centre-back Nathan Ake. By the time Martinelli struck at the death, City were firmly camped inside their own half.

Man City set record low for possession under Pep Guardiola

The tactical shift was reflected in the numbers. City had only 32.8% of possession, the lowest figure ever recorded by a Guardiola side in a top-flight league game. They also managed just five shots in total compared to Arsenal’s 12, and earned only two corners while the hosts racked up 11.

City’s eight touches in the Arsenal penalty box were also their fewest in any of Guardiola’s 347 Premier League matches in charge.

While the game did not go exactly as many had expected, FootballBlog.co.uk successfully predicted a 1-1 draw and had also tipped Haaland to score anytime (at 9/5) in our betting preview last week.

Fans accuse Guardiola of being “negative” against Arsenal

The final whistle sparked a torrent of criticism from fans on social media, with many accusing Guardiola of abandoning his attacking philosophy.

One Arsenal supporter remarked: “I expect copious articles about how negative Pep set this team up and how they didn’t come to win the game — that’s the way this works right?”

Others were equally damning. One fan fumed: “Pep played garbage today, he didn’t even deserve a point.” Another posted: “Never seen Pep play so negative in a game.”

Several comments focused on his substitutions. One supporter wrote: “Thanks Pep. Thanks for not even trying to get a second goal. Thanks for taking off every single attacking player. Thanks for nothing.” Another concluded: “This is the most anti-Pep football that I have ever seen from Pep.”

The strongest criticism came from fans who were shocked by the defensive shape City finished with. One message summed it up by saying: “Negative subs hardly ever work. WTF is up with Pep man. 6-3-1 is a level of nonsense I never thought I would see from him.”

Another added: “Pep is truly finished. Got the early lead, parked the bus, 30% possession, took out Foden and Haaland to bring in a defensive midfielder and a center-back and play a 5-2-3-0 formation… Horrific dinosaur football, football has left Pep behind…”

What did Guardiola say after the match?

Guardiola struck a very different tone when speaking afterwards. Despite the late equaliser, he insisted he left north London buoyed by City’s resilience.

“It’s the body language — how we celebrate, how we communicate, how we make an effort,” Guardiola said. “We lost it a lot last season. I said I don’t give a f*** about the results, I want to see the spirit back in the training sessions and us enjoying it. We had to recover it. This week we have recovered.

“We have to continue. I suffered. I don’t like it, I want the ball far away [from goal]. But once in 10 years is OK, right? Our resilience was fantastic, otherwise we cannot survive.”

Guardiola admitted Arsenal controlled the game but insisted City’s defensive display marked progress.

He added: “I want to be honest: Arsenal controlled the game — not us. But our resilience surprised me too. Like Napoli did against us, this week we showed that spirit.”

Arteta extends unbeaten run vs Guardiola

Martinelli’s late leveller not only earned Arsenal a deserved point but also extended Mikel Arteta’s impressive record against his former mentor.

Arteta is now unbeaten in his last five league games against Guardiola — two wins and three draws — the longest such streak of any manager against the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss in his career.