´Proud´ Guardiola enthused by Man City´s battling display at Arsenal

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was full of pride at the way his team performed against Arsenal, though acknowledged it was not a sustainable approach.

City, who led through Erling Haaland’s ninth-minute opener, were pegged back by Gabriel Martinelli in second-half stoppage time at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, as Arsenal salvaged a 1-1 draw.

Guardiola’s team had just 33.2% of the ball as they aimed to play on the counter and frustrate Mikel Arteta’s team.

That is the lowest figure one of Guardiola’s sides has ever had in a top-flight league game. Across his 601 such matches, his top ten lowest possession figures have all come in the Premier League with City.

Guardiola was delighted with his team’s performance, though he knows it will not be a tactic that City will utilise in most games this season, starting with Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie against Huddersfield Town.

“I’m really proud, satisfied,” he said on Tuesday.

“We recovered many things that we missed last season. We had an incredible spirit.

“Of course, we cannot sustain all season to play in the way we played, and we don’t want to, but I give incredible power to the opponents.

“Arsenal, for most of their games, are able to do that to other opponents, and I want to learn to celebrate when we draw a game in the way that we did away against Arsenal, who are a big contender and reached the semi-final of the Champions League. I want to celebrate that point.