How Pep Guardiola dominated the tactical battle against Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta thought he knew Pep Guardiola. Oh, how wrong he was!

This could’ve been Arsenal’s biggest night. Win at the Etihad for the first time since 2015, and the triumph would’ve been regarded as the club’s most significant in 20 years given the context. A Premier League title is/was at stake.

Arteta knew heading into the contest that only “perfection” would garner the Gunners’ desired result against Guardiola’s sky-blue juggernaut, but it was only their opponents that achieved such virtuosity on Wednesday night.

How Pep Guardiola dominated the tactical battle against Mikel Arteta in City’s thrashing of Arsenal

The Arsenal boss had prepared to face the City side he’d seen in their previous two meetings – one that has ascended into a new realm following the return of John Stones from injury and his subsequent deployment as an inverted full-back. Amid their recent imperious run, Pep’s deployed a 3-2-5 possession structure that involves Stones inverting to join Rodri in the pivot, allowing Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan to operate as ‘free eights’ higher up the field.

This is what Arteta expected to face in the potential title decider, and so, the Spaniard once again opted for a brave man-marking approach that sought to cut out City’s supply line to Erling Haaland at source.

However, there was no inversion from Stones on Wednesday night. Pep had changed tack. This was no 3-2-5 but a 4-2-4! With Stones remaining in the backline when City had the ball, Gundogan instead joined Rodri in the pivot which Arsenal attempted to match with their typical 4-4-2 high press.

"“Normally we have two number eights but Pep wanted more control so we were playing double six with Gundogan, and if Partey or Xhaka pressed, I’d occupy the space behind,” said De Bruyne post-match."

And while City’s back four and midfield pivot were all occupied, Pep’s tweak essentially handed De Bruyne the freedom of Manchester between the lines. Thomas Partey pushed up one of City’s pivots throughout the opening period, allowing De Bruyne to persistently run off the Ghanaian. Neither Rob Holding nor Gabriel wanted to squeeze up given the presence of a certain Norwegian menace.

The hosts were ridiculously cool in the face of Arsenal’s pressure, and their patience saw the Gunners succumb over and over again. It was an approach certainly inspired by Roberto De Zerbi, whose Brighton side build-up play in a similar manner.

Back in March, Guardiola said of his potential inspiration for Wednesday night’s thrashing: “We’ve got an Italian coach in Premier League, De Zerbi – he’s changing many things in English football. He’s producing wonderful football.”

When Arsenal squeezed, City were ruthless – as shown by De Bruyne’s opener. A long ball into Haaland compromised the Gunners’ press in the blink of an eye, and once the Norwegian expertly brought the ball down while battling Holding, it was curtains. De Bruyne had already breezed past the woeful Partey to receive Haaland’s layoff.

City’s first goal set the tone for what was an utterly abject evening for the visitors. The hosts asserted all-out control from the get-go, and they succumbed to the faux transitions City created in the first half time and time again.

De Bruyne and Haaland ran amok, with Arsenal failing to deal with the pair when City baited the Gunners high up the pitch before hitting them with the long ball. The City pair combined for 15 progressive receptions, the vast majority of which occurred in the opening 45 minutes, as De Bruyne scored twice and set up another, while Haaland eventually got his goal, hair down and all, in stoppage time after being denied on several occasions by Aaron Ramsdale.

Outwitted and outcoached, Arteta looked like a broken man as VAR intervened to award City’s second on the stroke of half-time. Arsenal’s issue was pretty evident, but it took the Spaniard far too long to find a solution. City were 3-0 up and in cruise control by the time the manager’s subtle adjustments started to pay dividends. The contest was over. Arsenal’s title hopes all but dashed.

While Arsenal failed to show up at the Etihad, Man City were simply irresistible. This is, without question, one of the finest Guardiola-led sides we’ve seen, and they now look on course to complete a historic treble. There’s no shame in losing to a side like this, no matter the occasion. This was a case of the master schooling his apprentice once more.