Mikel Arteta has hit again at accusations of “dark arts” in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester Metropolis and claimed he would have been “thick” to not be taught from earlier encounters with the champions.
Arsenal needed to play the entire of the second half with 10 males on the Etihad Stadium on Sunday after Leandro Trossard acquired a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in first-half stoppage time.
John Stones and Bernardo Silva accused the 10-man Gunners of “time-wasting” and “dirty” ways after a string of their gamers went right down to obtain therapy throughout a stormy second interval.
Arsenal’s resistance was ultimately damaged when Stones scored a dramatic equalising objective within the eighth minute of stoppage time however Arteta insists the problems afflicting his gamers have been real.
“I always prefer the facts rather than words, so let’s see who’s available tomorrow and then we can talk about dark arts,” he stated forward of their Carabao Cup tie at dwelling to Bolton on Wednesday.
“Sadly, some gamers will not be accessible tomorrow.
“Tomorrow you will find out, as soon as I give the line-up.”
Requested if any of the accidents are critical, Arteta stated: “We have to wait on one of them.”
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Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville are each having fun with the rising rivalry between Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal
Of the gamers who went down, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Martinelli have been substituted, whereas goalkeeper David Raya, who additionally acquired therapy from the membership’s physios, was pictured limping as he left the bottom with a bandage round his knee.
An harm to Raya could be a specific concern to Arsenal forward of the assembly with Bolton given Neto, their second-choice goalkeeper, is cup-tied, whereas third-choice Tommy Setford has a suspected harm, leaving the 16-year-old Jack Porter subsequent in line.
Arteta supplied extra optimistic information on Martin Odegaard, saying his captain is “a matter of weeks” away from returning regardless of fears of an extended lay-off together with his ankle harm. However Oleksandr Zinchenko is predicted to overlook one other “few weeks” together with his calf drawback.
Pressed additional on the “dark arts” accusations, Arteta added: “It’s opinions and that’s it.
“Whoever says what they are saying are usually not going to retract their phrases. We’ll use the information.”
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Hearken to Erling Haaland’s feedback to Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta at full-time on the Etihad Stadium
In what could possibly be interpreted as a reference to Rodri receiving therapy after colliding with Kai Havertz within the first few seconds of the sport, Arteta stated: “If a player is [feigning] something, he will carry on, he will be involved in the squad and he will play.”
Arteta additionally claimed Metropolis would have used related ways, highlighting the transient interval between Rodri being withdrawn together with his knee harm and Mateo Kovacic approaching to switch him within the first half.
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Man Metropolis goalscorer John Stones says his facet have develop into used to Arsenal utilizing ‘darkish arts’ once they play one another
“We had to play the game that we had to play,” Arteta stated. “In the first 10 or 15 minutes we couldn’t, then we got much better.
“After which we have been thrown into a really completely different context. Each crew does it. They performed 30 seconds with 10 males, you have a look at what they did. It is regular. We needed to do it another way.”
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Arteta referenced earlier conferences with Metropolis by which his facet have been decreased to 10 males, once they have been overwhelmed 5-0 in 2021 after a purple card to Granit Xhaka, then misplaced 2-1 on the Emirates Stadium later that season following a purple card to Gabriel Magalhaes.
“We learned from the past as well because unfortunately, we’ve been in that situation with them three times very recently,” he stated.
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A have a look at the closing moments between Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal, when Erling Haaland performed a key function in elevating tensions
“One was with Granit [Xhaka] after 38 minutes, and we conceded how many? I would be very thick if we didn’t learn from it.”
The two-2 draw on the Etihad was the ultimate leg of a gruelling week for the Gunners which noticed them beat Tottenham on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and play out a goalless draw away to Atalanta within the Champions League.
“The desire the team have to compete in any context, to win, to adapt to different circumstances, different competitions, different ways of playing, and handle that emotionally and physically in the way we have done is superb,” he stated.
“Happy? No, because we wanted to win the game [against City]. But understanding how tough that context is and how difficult it is and the things we have to deal with. And not only that, but issues as well with the amount of players we had out.
“I believe it is a vital enchancment and we’ve to be happy with that. However not completely happy as a result of we need to win.”
Watch Arsenal vs Bolton stay on Sky Sports activities + from 7.15pm on Wednesday, kick-off at 7.45pm
