Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola fell out with Jack Grealish after Manchester City settled for a barren draw with Arsenal in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
With 28% of the ball possession, Arsenal bottled the Premier League champions with a brilliant defensive display.
Settling for the low blocks while maintaining constant and regular offensives, Arsenal succeeded in keeping City at bare. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes combined perfectly to foil the hosts’ offensives.
City could only record just one attempt on goal as they failed to overrun Arsenal’s purposeful defending enough to have the Gunners run out with a point at Etihad.
Pep Guardiola was obviously dissatisfied with the performance of his players as the team dropped valuable two points.
After the final whistle, Guardiola did not allow his players vacate to the tunnel when he stormed into the field and poured out his frustrations on Jack Grealish for an apparently underwhelming performance on the flanks. He was seen in footage engaging Grealish in a heated discussion.
The Spaniard threw his hands around and remonstrated as he pointed out the errors made by Grealish that allowed Arsenal to escape with a draw.
After the heated row with Grealish, he was also seen walking up to Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes and also having some words with the player.
It is still unclear what he said to Magalhaes with some reports saying he perfunctorily showered an awkward compliment on the Brazilian defender amidst his frustration.
Pep Guardiola reacts to Arsenal’s low blocks
Manchester City wielded 78% of the ball possession but were struggling to break down Arsenal’s sturdy backline. The Gunners made well their efforts to settle for the low blocks while hoping to catch out the hosts on quick counters when winning possession.
When asked about Arsenal’s effective low block during the game and what he would do to teams deploying similar tactics, Pep gave an awkward but funny response tinged with a wry smile.
He said; ”Kill somebody, maybe?”
Manchester City have dropped to third on the Premier League table after the draw to Arsenal. They have 64 points, a point behind Arsenal in second place, and three points behind Liverpool at the top.
Pep Guardiola will hope to return the Cityzens to return to winning ways when they take on Aston Villa in a mid-week Premier League fixture on Wednesday, April 3 at Etihad.
