Pep Guardiola names Manchester City duo central to unconventional setup against Arsenal | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he will aim to avoid utilising a deep defensive block in future, having secured a point against Arsenal on Sunday.

City’s resilience after holding on to a one-goal advantage for over 80 minutes at the Emirates Stadium was finally broken in injury time as Gabriel Martinelli’s lobbed effort over Gianluigi Donnarumma secured a vital point for the Gunners.

Erling Haaland’s ninth-minute opener gave City an early advantage and the visitors dug deep to defend their slim lead, with the Blues only enjoying 33% possession where they suffered a brutal 5-1 defeat in February.

Guardiola, known for his attacking and dominant style of play since his days managing the Barcelona B-team, surprised one and all with City’s approach to their third game in the space of seven days on Sunday, with his side beating Manchester United and Napoli at home in the week leading to the monumental clash in north London.

Having come desperately close to pulling off a tactical masterclass against one of their main title rivals, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola were handed a late blow when Arsenal substitute Eberechi Eze found Martinelli with a delicious through ball behind the City defence and the Brazilian found the net with a perfect chip over Donnarumma.

City thwarted Arsenal’s potent attack for a majority of the game and having played against United and Napoli in the last week, it was evident that naming an unchanged starting XI to face Mikel Arteta’s men would have consequences for the visitors as the game went on.

Speaking to reporters following the draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Guardiola said of Manchester City’s five-man defensive set-up: “We will try to not be like this. We will try to not be like this.

“But, when the opponent is better and we defend deeper – and we have Erling (Haaland) or Tijjani Reijnders – we can use the counter-attack, yes. But our intention is not like that.

“Sometimes in 10 years when we won the leagues and other titles, always we make counter-attacks. You remember Leroy (Sane) and Raheem (Sterling)?

“You remember how many counter-attacks we did, with Kevin (De Bruyne)? You remember? I’d prefer not to, but you cannot expect at this level not to do it. It’s impossible.”

Offering further thoughts on City’s setup on Sunday in his post-match press conference, Guardiola added: “One time in 10 years is not bad, right? I have to prove myself against another strategy. Now I am a transition team, you know that?”

City face a trip to Huddersfield in midweek in their opening tie of the 2025-26 Carabao Cup before returning to Premier League duties against Burnley next weekend. Having made no changes to his starting XI in the last week, Guardiola is expected to make several changes to his lineup at John Smith’s Stadium.